The Black Side of the Moon
by Methrindal
Summary: As Yhwach cripples the Seiretei, another enemy is brewing on the horizon, one you would never expect. Follow Ichigo and friends to the end of their journey, and maybe the end of all things. Canon to Chapter 511 of BLEACH. Rating will change to when I think it gets to dark in the future. IchixRuki
1. The Prelude to Sunset

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, not me

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Hello, after a while I've come up with tons of crazy theories about Bleach and about my favorite characters, interesting theories I like to think them as. I've decided to start writing a story as a way to relieve stress and lets be serious here, its a nice time killer. So here this is, the prelude of my story. The real stuff starts next chapter, I will either have that out tomorrow or the next day. If anyone wants to BETA this story, feel free to private message me. Remember, please, please, please review. Not only will it help me get better, but it will let me know if i'm doing things wrong. So please, feel free to criticize as much as you want, but tell me what i'm doing wrong at the same time. Expect updates rather frequently, and I will let you know if something comes up and if I won"t be able to post for a while. What you will notice immediately about this story is that Ichigo didn't break out of the Jail in time to confront Bach, everything goes downhill from there if you know what I mean, haha. Info about the story below.

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**Rating: M; Will include many character deaths, blood, gore, violence, strong use of language, dark themes, and it may end up having strong sexual situations too, you never know.**

**Pairings: Ichiruki**

**Description: As Yhwach cripples the Seiretei, another enemy is brewing on the horizon, one you would never expect. Follow Ichigo and friends to the end of their journey, and maybe the end of all things. Canon to Chapter 511 of BLEACH.**

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**The Black Side of the Moon~ Prelude to Sunset**

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_One step forward,_

_Never able to go back,_

_To an universe drenched in a sea of blood._

_~Yhwach_

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The play is set, the Vandenreich have attacked, led by a tall Quincy with long black hair and a dark beard, his name is Yhwach. The man sighed inwardly as he stood over the bisected corpse of Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni, the soutaichou of the Gotei 13. Dark clouds were gathering in the sky and rain started to pelt the ground, creating a relaxing atmosphere that contrasted the destruction marring the Seireitei. His sanguine frown never left him as he walked over to his adjutant, Haschwald, who carried a perpetually doleful expression. He then turned his back to Haschwald and stuck out his finger, unleashing a blinding light of reishi condensed into what is known as "_Heilig Pfeil_", vaporizing the fallen Shinigami's remains and soul. The Quincy's long black cloak billowed in the wind, as he stared up into the sky, taking into account that he had finally repaid his one thousand year old debt to his sworn enemy. This very event has signified the beginning of the end, the fall of the Soul Society.

"It is done." announced Yhwach, his voice resolute. "Convey to all of the Stern Ritter, we're going to reduce the Soul Society to rubble." He looked off into the distance; he could feel the fierce battles raging on between Shinigami and Quincy.

Haschwald simply nodded. "Yes, your majesty." Through a form of telepathic communication, Haschwald informed them. The Stern Ritter then called forth the Soldat, a large force of ground troops. Screams and panic filled the air as countless Shinigami we slaughtered like domestic cattle. There is no mercy in war, only death.

Yhwach plastered a triumphant smirk on his face as he took a deep breath. "I wonder how Kurosaki Ichigo is doing." He exclaimed. "After our assault is over, go and remove him from his cage. We must take him back to the palace and re-educate him on the situation."

Haschwald nodded once more and began to relay some more information to the Stern Ritter. The invasion was almost over, most of the taichou were losing their battles and near death. So far, Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the 6th division and Yamamoto were the only notable casualties. Haschwald turned his head over towards Yhwach who looked to be contemplating something deeply.

_'Kurosaki Ichigo will be a valiant ally,' He_ thought inwardly,_ "It is a shame that Aizen Sousuke denied our offer, he could have made all the difference in this war, I may end up needing more help against the Ouzokutokumu." _he kept on thinking for some time until he ran out of ideas. His special War time potentials were dwindling, only a couple were living up to their expectations, but in due time things will play out accordingly.

Yhwach motioned to Haschwald to come here and he did so. "Haschwald," he called, "We may need to gather more allies to our cause, and do you have any suggestions worthy of mentioning?" Yhwach always looked to Haschwald for advice, he was his right hand man, and he almost saw him as an equal..._almost_.

Haschwald's eyes became distant for a moment as he thought, and then said "Yes, your majesty, have you ever thought about recruiting Ishida Ryuuken to our cause?"

"Of course," he replied, almost instantly, "He has been on my mind much as of late, he was even more powerful than me before I acquired_ Zanka no Tachi_, but sadly he has been in hiding for some time." Haschwald nodded in understanding as Yhwach continued. "I have not had any leads on his whereabouts since I last saw him 400 years ago, and let me tell you, that was not a pleasant meeting. His views are too cynical for my tastes anyhow, so it is of no consequence."

Ishida Ryuuken, the "_Last of the Quincy's_" he calls himself. He is very much the most powerful and skilled Quincy in existence at the moment. In truth, Yhwach would do anything to sway him to his cause; the destruction of the Soul Society and the Shinigami. Sadly Ryuuken is long time best friends with an ex-Royal Guardsmen, who just so happens to be Kurosaki Ichigo's father.

As Yhwach was contemplating the outcome of his future endeavors, a large shadow spilled out of the ground and engulfed him. "Shit," he cursed, "Impossible, we should still have more time."

Haschwald, stoically as ever noted, "We have indeed reached the time limit for operating outside of the "_Schatten Bereich_" area, we must return to the Vandenreich immediately your majesty, forgive me for not updating you on the time limit."

He thought for a short moment, his eyes widened at his conclusion. "Dammit, I see, this is Aizen Sousuke's doing," he retorted, "In the few minutes we were in contact, he managed to disrupt my senses."

_"I wonder if…_" Yhwach thought, "Haschwald, recall the Stern Ritter immediately, we're leaving. The Ouzokutokumuwill show up soon anyways."

Haschwald complied and opened up the dimensional rift that led to the Vandenreich palace and they both entered leaving a crumbling Sereitei in their wake.

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Kurosaki Ichigo stood in the jail of Quilge Opie, stuck between the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, panting, nearly out of breath. He has no idea how long he has been stuck in here, but he can only feel like he has failed everyone.

"Fuck... Fuck…FUCK!" Ichigo cursed, swinging madly at the Jail's wall. "Why can't I break this? WHY!? Rukia… Renji… everyone... I WILL PROTECT YOU!" Ichigo could feel the pain and suffering the Shinigami in the Soul Society was enduring, he could barely feel Rukia's and Renji's reaitsu. It was nearly depleted, Ichigo wouldn't know what to do if he lost Rukia. She means so much to him; he won't be able to bear it. He HAS to save her, he HAS to save everyone, he WILL save everyone.

In a last ditch effort, Ichigo unleashed nearly all of his Reaitsu, channeling it through _Tensa Zangetsu_. A blinding explosion occurred, engulfing Ichigo as well, but miraculously, he was unharmed. As the smoke cleared, the gate to the Jail lay broken. "How..?" Ichigo stammered, "Why after all this time it finally breaks? Shit, I'm so tired; I don't think I will be able to keep this up for long."

Ichigo jumped out of the cage and through the senkaimon awaiting him a close distance from the ripple back into Hueco Mundo, completely unprepared for what he will find on the other side…

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And this is the prelude! Hopefully you thought it was decent, please review to tell me how to improve! I will make sure each chapter is 5-6k words, I do not want to make this a short story. Thanks and till next time.

For future reference

Taichou - Captain

Fukutaichou - Vice-Captain

Soutaichou - Captain-commander

Ouzokutokumu - Royal Guard


	2. Sunset

Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo, not me ;_;

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**A/N** - Hey guys, a little quick update for you guys tonight, I promise soon, that the chapters will get longer, but the time it takes for me to update will undoubtedly increase, instead of daily updates it will most likely be 3-4 day updates. Now to begin, if any of you believe Shunsui to be OOC in this chapter, I'm taking a more realistic spin on his reaction to his mentor of a thousand years and good friend dying. So forgive me if it may seem a little out of character for Shunsui, but I imagined him to be deeply distressed after the death of his long time sensei, especially after the reaction to him being bisected in chapter 511. As to him calling Unohana "Retsu", Unohana will not be the first Kenpachi in my story. I find that idea dumb and the whole situation and back story for the past few chapters unbearably lame, forgive me. I will most likely go over all of the changes to the Gotei 13's roster next chapter, along with an update on all of the captain's statuses. Will Shunsui become captain commander? Hehe, wait and find out! At any rate, please review and enjoy. Remember to criticize me accordingly so I get better.

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**The Black Side of the Moon~ Sunset**

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_The reason we think the flowers on the precipice are beautiful,_

_is because we are standing on the precipice as well._

_Do not fear, because we are like the flowers,_

_We did not step off._

_~Aizen Sousuke_

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_Seireitei, before Ichigo's escape;_

With murky, ominous clouds still gathering in the night sky, the moon barely shining through, heavy drops of ice cold rain continued to pelt the ground after the Quincy's evacuated the seireitei, with no sign of letting up. By the looks of things, thousands of casualties have been dealt, mostly on the Stern Ritters behalf. The Gotei 13's numbers have more or less been annihilated, with 7 of the 13 divisions completely wiped out. Now the fourth division springs into action to begin relief counter-measures.

A small gust of wind followed by Unohana Retsu, taichou of the 4th division, emerged several feet from a warrior nearly faced down in the mud. He is clad in a stained pink haori, if you could even call it pink anymore. Unohana frowned deeply and hastily rushed to the fallen Shinigami's side, taichou of the 8th division, Kyoraku Shunsui, a peace loving man.

The master healer carefully rolled him onto his back to get a closer and more articulate assessment of his wounds. There were multiple deep lacerations to his torso, from what looked to be accompanied by reishi burns, most likely from a Quincy arrow of some sort, and his left eye was bleeding profusely.

Shunsui felt the warm glow of someone's reaitsu engulfing him comfortingly manner in a effort to preserve his life, and so he strained himself to crack one eye open, his only functional eye that is.

Groggily, Shunsui stuttered, "R-Retsu..? Is that you"? He then shut his eyes again because he was to tired to keep them open.

Unohana figured the man may be a little delirious from the adrenaline induced high he was probably experiencing right now from the aftermath of battle, and so she replied, "Yes, Shunsui, do not worry, everything is going to be ok.."

Shunsui digested what she said for a minute, taking a bit longer than usual. In reality, Unohana knew things were at its worst, but that is beside the point right now.

He formed a small smile to lighten the moon and whispered, "B-boy am I glad to see you.. I really took a beating back there." Shunsui chuckled darkly for a moment and continued, "Hows Yama-ji and the others doing eh? Certainly better than me I suppose."

Unohana shut her eyes as tears filled them, she didn't have the will to reply, knowing full well what has happened, and so continued on with her expert kidou silently.

Shunsui got the hint and let out a muffled sob, tears brimming in his eye since now he remembers what he felt earlier, Yamamoto's reaitsu completely vanishing. "Dammit Retsu," he spoke, barely a whisper at that, as if he was reprimanding himself, "It's my entire fault…all my fault... Only if_ Katen Kyokotsu_ worked with me... just this once... I let everyone down..." Shunsui shut his eyes and let out a groan of pain now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

Unohana opened her eyes and looked down at the man before her. His face carrying the most broken expression she had ever seen in the 900 some odd years they have known each other.

Noticing he was seconds away from breaking down, she gently took his trembling hand in hers, offering him a small form of comfort. She too, was deeply distressed at the whole ordeal. Yamamoto was like a brother to her, both having served in the original divisions a thousand years ago, prior to the Gotei 13's creation.

Shunsui clenched her hand as she spook soothingly, "Shh.. Shunsui, rest now, it is nobody's fault but the ones who committed the crime, you did the best you could."

The man slowly nodded in silent approval wiping the unshed tears in his eye away, accepting the fact that it wasn't entirely his fault. If only _Katen Kyokotsu _would have responded, of all the times he needed her most, she stays quiet. He slowly looked back up to Unohana and spoke clearly now that his critical wounds are almost healed, "Those bastards, I will kill every last one of them for murdering Yama-ji… He was a good man, not deserving of a fate such as that. His soul was probably removed from the reincarnation cycle."

Unohana showed no emotion to his anger fueled rant as he continued, allowing him to let it all out. "How sick and depraved do you have to be, fucking Quincy's, I will murder every last one of them." Shunsui spat.

"Retribution will come with time Shunsui, rest for now." Unohana demanded kindly. "We will recuperate and re-organize our ranks, the dead are still unaccounted for, I am even unsure about most of our taichou at this moment, although I met with Juushiro and Hirako on my way to you, they are mostly unharmed thank goodness."

Shunsui calmed down and collected himself, then smiled merrily at the news of his good friend being well in spite of recent events. "_Atleast my greatest friend is still alive and kicking, nobody is ever going to get him down._" Shunsui thought to himself.

He looked back up to Unohana and asked, "Have you heard anything from Kurosaki Ichigo? He was said to be coming to our aid, although I haven't felt his uncontrolled reaitsu all day."

Unohana pondered for a moment and replied, "No, I have not, something must have gone wrong, we would do well look into it immediately, he is a powerful ally we cannot spare to lose." Shunsui simply nodded and lay back down, resting while Unohana healed him.

After several more minutes, she finished the first phase of her healing process and stuck out her hand, "Here, take my hand, I will help you to the 4th division barracks where I will complete your healing with better equipment, you should be well enough to walk with my assistance at least."

Shunsui nodded and took her hand, giving her a warm smile. "Thanks for your help Retsu, I really do owe you one." the taichou brushed the grime and muck off of his haori, pulled himself up, and to his chagrin, felt a great pain throbbing in his chest, but he could manage for now. He's been through countless wars and battles after all.

Unohana rebutted, "Not at all Shunsui, come, we must hurry back." She threw his arm over her shoulder and carried most of his weight for him, and then disappeared into the night taking Shunsui with her.

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_Seireitei; present time_

As Kurosaki Ichigo jumped through the_ senkaimon_, he was slapped in the face by some hard hitting rain and his jaw dropped wide open as he faced the destruction of what was once the beautiful and peaceful seireitei. "_Who could have done this_?" Ichigo thought to himself. Where once stood countless buildings, streets, and impressive architecture, were now decorated with fire and destruction.

He got his wits about him after recovering from the shock, and stretched out his senses to feel for his partner, the girl who changed his world. He sighed in relief when he felt her reaitsu, even though it was barely a flicker, and so he sped off to the sight of where she lay.

As he exited his shunpo by the reaitsu he was tracking, Ichigo spotted an unconscious Rukia hanging over a broken house. He rushed to her side and with great care, untied her shihakusho to inspect what kind of wound she received. He's no doctor, but in fact a doctor's son. There is a long violent gash extending from her shoulder all the way down her backside, and that can only be very bad. "_She may end up being paralyzed from this, there's no doubt her spinal cord is damaged, Inoue may have to treat her_." Ichigo thought to himself.

Ichigo touched her cheek and noticed she is very cold, more than likely she has lost a hefty amount of blood. "I'm sorry Rukia, I didn't get here in time protect you, forgive me..." Ichigo lamented.

He tied her shihakushou back up gently and picked her up bridal style before speeding off in a blaze toward the 4th squad barracks. Luckily he remembers exactly where it is due to his last visit.

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As Ichigo came about the 4th squad barracks, he spotted Shinji, taichou of the 5th division, acting replacement for Aizen Sousuke, directing orders and yelled, "Hey Shinji! I need some help over here; Rukia has been hurt pretty badly!"

Shinji looked up, more than surprised to see Ichigo and replied, "Shit, bring her here quickly."

Ichigo put Rukia in Shinji's arms and spoke, "Thanks man, I owe you one, take good care of her because I have to go find the others." Shinji hastily nodded and rushed into the barracks. Meanwhile, Ichigo moved quickly to the location of Abarai Renji's reaitsu.

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Ichigo swooped onto the scene, noticing that Renji was backed up against a wall. He didn't seem to critically injured, but he was probably too fatigued to walk, let alone shunpo. He then noticed a large hole in the wall, accompanied by a bloody mess of a man. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the bloody mess is in fact Kuchiki Byakuya, taichou of the 6th division. He quickly rushed to his side to inspect him, but at first glance it didn't seem like he could survive such terrible wounds, and the body was motionless.

All of a sudden the mouth of Byakuya started to animate as he spoke, in an extremely hoarse manner, as if he was on his last breath, which he probably is, "Kurosaki Ichigo….is that you?

Ichigo was surprised and stayed silent a moment, thinking that it didn't look like he could last very long, before replying, "Yes, Byakuya it's me, listen I need to get you to the 4th division immediately.

Byakuya quickly shook his head in disagreement as he continued, "No, my time is short, moving me will only keep me from saying what I must… Are Rukia and Renji still alive?"

"Ah, yeah, they're alive… They're fine." Ichigo uncomfortably spoke to the nearly dead man.

Byakuya rasped out, "I see, I'm glad.. I don't have much time left.. As a taichou of the Gotei 13, rendered helpless by these malevolent beings that trespass on Soul Society, resulting in the massacre of all these protectors… leaving nothing but an empty void in the families of my subordinates." Byakuya coughed harshly but continued on, "Now I lie on deaths doorstep, bringing a humiliation that echoes throughout every fiber of my being, I ask of you one last request, my dying wish."

Ichigo swiftly nodded and braced himself for the request, "I ask of you, please.. protect Rukia for me, I leave her in your hands. I have failed everyone by acting rashly, and now I sully my pride by pleading you to care for my sister who I swore to protect many years ago, and failed countless times.."

Ichigo began with a resolute voice, "Byakuya, I swore to protect her the moment she risked her life for my family, you need not ask me that, I promise you I will defend her to my dying breath."

"Ahhh, that is what I always liked about you Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya admitted, "You always had an unbreakable will, even when the odds were stacked against you… for that, I express my deepest thanks."

He then choked like he was having trouble breathing, and at the same time, chunks of his body started to fall off and dissipate into reishi, becoming one with the seiretei.

"Ichigo" he called out, "It seems my time on the plane is up, I thank you for all of your help and most of all.. For protecting my what truly matters most to me…tell Rukia I love her..and goodbye.."

He watched as Byakuya vanished into thin air, determined to respect his final wishes, in honor of his memory.

* * *

A Quincy lay on the ground in front of Yhwach's throne, gasping for air after his majesty cut his throat in a fit of rage, blood gushing out in streams, his time almost up.

"Fools!" He barked, "Where is Kurosaki Ichigo, how did he escape? Quilge's jail should have been able to hold him."

Haschwald stepped in and answered before more of his subordinates were slaughtered mindlessly, "Maybe his Quincy powers awakened before schedule? Surely your majesty, Quilge's jail wouldn't be able to hold him if that occurred."

Yhwach wondered for a moment before nodding in agreement, "Yes, you are correct, maybe the exposure of the Quincy reaitsu exerted by the jail awakened his latent powers... Damn, this is not what I expected to happen, but we will have to maintain our current plan and schedule regardless."

He finally trudged back up to his throne and sat down before placing his fingers together and resting his head on his hands. "Actually, I believe some changes are in order, we must capture Kurosaki Ichigo by force, but not now, for now we wait, you will be ours, my son born in the darkness…"

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**A/N #2**: Thanks for reading. As for a quick look into the future, I will be bringing in all of the Royal Guard, Aizen, Isshin, Ryuuken, the Soul King and multiple other characters that require exploration. The later story will feature some pretty hefty and long flashbacks to completely describe the origin of these characters, mostly including the Quincy war one thousand years ago and the extermination 200 years prior to Bleach. I will start working on Chapter 3 immediately, I would have made this one longer, but I thought that was a nice place to end it. Remember to review so I can get better! Till next time.

Reference

Haori - outer cloth worn by Shigiami to signify authority

Shihakushou - Assortment of clothing worn by Shinigami, the whole shebang

Reaitsu - Spiritual power

Reishi - Spirit particle


	3. Sunrise

**Chapter 3: Sunrise**

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Bleach is still owned by Tite Kubo, not me

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**A/N** - Hey guys, sorry it took me a while to get this one out, had a jammed pack schedule the past few days, but now I am sick and off from work so I decided to finish this. Hope you guys enjoy this, if you have any questions throw me a pm or ask in a review. Also, please notify me of any grammatical errors you guys notice, I have no BETA so I got to weed out all that stuff myself, and I never fix it completely. Thanks for reading and enjoy.

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**The Black Side of the Moon~ Sunrise**

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_We should not shed tears,_

_For that is the surrender of the body,_

_To the heart_

_It is only proof,_

_That we are beings,_

_That do not know_

_What to do with our hearts._

_~Kuchiki Byakuya_

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Bright yellow rays peaked through the Kuchiki manor as the sun rose, brightening the room where Ichigo slept. The young substitute Shinigami stirred slightly before rising, giving in to the fact that getting any more sleep is a lost cause. He managed to stifle his yawn with his right hand as he haphazardly slipped on his shihakushou which was neatly folded on the hand carved dresser adjacent to him. Soon after, he began his daily workout as he reminisced on yesterday's events to gain a better collective on what needs to be accomplished today.

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_After Byakuya's death~_

Ichigo bowed his head as the former Kuchiki head, former enemy; turned friend, finally vanished from sight. "_Damn shame_." he thought, "_Rukia is really going to take a beating from this when she wakes up_." Just then, he remembered Renji, and rushed over to his side which was not far from Byakuya's final resting place.

He knelt down and nudged his friends shoulder slightly and spoke, "Hey…hey Renji, you unconscious man?" Ichigo noticed he was snoring slightly so he must be taking a nap to restore his spent energy.

As Ichigo shook his shoulder with a little more oomph than before, careful not to induce any unwarranted pain, Renji ceased his snoring and cracked his eyes open which was slightly more difficult than it sounded, since they were closed shut with dried blood. He let out a groan, "Taaaaichouuu…"

Ichigo moved in front of him so he wouldn't have to turn his head. He got a good long look at the man in front of him and yelped, "ICHIGO!?" which made the latter jump in surprise a bit, "What the fuck're you doing, go help the taichou not me!"

The substitute solemnly shook his head and so Renji reached out his senses in an effort to locate the 6th division heads red spirit thread. The effort was in vain though and the fukutaichou cursed loudly, "Fuck, TAAICHOU!"

Renji tried to get up but his wounds were too painful for him to even get close, so Ichigo stepped in, "Renji, listen to me, we got to get you to the 4th division now before you bleed to death!"

Said shinigami scoffed in self-loathing, "Who the fuck cares about me? The taichou's dead, I couldn't do anything to stop it, what kind of fukutaichou am I?"

Ichigo swiftly reprimanded him, "You idiot! A lot of people I know do, and most of all, Rukia and I." Renji looked into his eyes as he continued, "Do you think she is going to take this lightly? It's her brother who died, she's going to need a shoulder to lean on to help her get through this, two shoulders if you get your ass up and stop blaming yourself. Especially for something you had no control over!"

Even though Ichigo felt something similar to a bloated hypocrite at the moment, since he was blaming himself not too long ago, that does not matter right now, he has a promise that he swore to his soul to keep.

Renji's expression slowly went from its previous dark form to a resolute gaze; you could almost say he was smiling. "You're right," he agreed, "what a sorry shit I am, what would the taichou think of me now? Wallowing in my own grief like some school boy who just got dumped"

He gripped Ichigo's shoulders and demanded, "Help me up brother."

Ichigo brought him to his feet and in turn Renji winced in pain, but he decided to keep to himself for now. This is his moment, his own promise that he is vowing to at this very second, the vow to enact revenge against the Quincy who slaughtered Byakuya with his own zanpakutou.

"Let's get the hell out of here," he spoke, "we got a whole lot of shit to do, and asses to kick."

Ichigo smirked triumphantly at the success of his motivating words. "_Damn, looks like some of the midget is rubbing off on me, I'm definitely not as poetic as her_ _though_, _might have to ask for tips later_." He thought to himself.

"Now that is the Renji I know." Ichigo said, "By the way, Rukia is at the 4th division barracks receiving treatment, we should check on her after you are done with your own healing." They started to put one foot after the other, trying their best to work as a team.

"Yeah, I know," Renji retorted. "I can feel her reaitsu from here." Just then his eyes went as wide as saucers, "Holy shit! Where is the soutaichou!? I can't feel his reaitsu! Don't tell me..."

"Jii-san….?" Ichigo questioned as he felt for his reaitsu as well. He wasn't the best at it but he could usually feel something. The old man's reaitsu was incredible even though he masterfully hid a great portion of it.

He called it quits and spoke, "Dammit you're right, I don't feel it at all, come on, let's get to the barracks." Ichigo started to speed up, he felt like a prune from all of the rain that's been dumped on him; he could really use a hot shower right now.

"Right," Renji replied. "I don't think anyone could finish off the soutaichou, there must be some mistake."

Ichigo sure hoped it was a mistake, the death of the soutaichou means only one thing… that the enemy is more powerful than everyone in the Gotei 13. How were they supposed to fight such a foe? He is nowhere near as strong as when he faced Aizen those few years ago. Can he even get that powerful again? Hopefully Urahara-san and his oji-san know what to do; he will have to go converse with them on their battle plan, maybe they know something about the new enemy they are facing.

Thoughts raced through Ichigo's head as they continued on toward the 4th division.

* * *

_4th division; 2 hours later_

The 4th division barracks were completely full, even to such an extent that they have to utilize the 3rd and 5th squad barracks to treat overflow patients. Most of the casualties had been accounted for, and the wounded have been treated thoroughly enough so that they are in a stabilized condition. But the horrors of war remain, and this was only the first battle of many. Now comes the period of recuperation, to prepare for the next great conflict.

Unohana Retsu was rushing from patient to patient as she spotted her fukutaichou, Isane. She looked rather tired from the noticeable bags under her eyes, but so did everyone at the moment. "Isane-san," she called kindly, "Status report please."

Isane looked up as she heard her name being called and replied, "Right away Unohana-taichou." She began to scramble through some written records in search of the list.

She then prepared the incantation for Bakudo #77, _Tenteikuura,_ and spoke loud and clear for all of the seiretei to hear. "Hello, this is Kotetsu Isane, fukutaichou of the 4th division, if everyone would please stop what you are doing except for the 4th division members currently treating patients, you are exempt." She took a deep breath and continued.

Kurosaki Ichigo was sitting outside the operating room where Rukia was located as he listened to the message that rang like a microphone overhead. "This is the current and updated list of casualties and statuses of the taichou and fukutaichou of the Gotei 13, please stand by." Isane said.

He held his breath as he prepared himself for the more than likely grim news.

"Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamaoto, soutaichou of the Gotei 13, and taichou of the 1st division;" she began, "deceased." You could hear gasps coming from all over the seireitei, it felt something similar to a small earthquake. Ichigo began to sweat and feel a little bit uneasy at the fact that the enemy managed to slay the most powerful Shinigami to ever live.

Ichigo paid close attention as she continued, "Sui-Feng, taichou of the 2nd division, critically injured but stable and Marechiyo Omaeda, fukutaichou of the 2nd division, stable."

"Ruujurou Outoribashi, taichou of the 3rd division; stable and Kira Izuru, fukutaichou of the 3rd division, deceased." More shouts of horror could be heard at the news of their lost fukutaichou.

Isane continued, "Hirako Shinji, taichou of the 5th division and Hinamori Momo, fukutaichou of the 5th division, stable."

Ichigo swallowed as he continued to listen, hearing a bit of coughing over the intercom just before she cleared her throat. "Kuchiki Byakuya," she continued. "Taichou of the 6th division, deceased."

Another small earthquake of yelling and panic erupted, similar to the reaction to Yamamoto's demise, followed by Isane continuing. "Abarai Renji, fukutaichou of the 6th division, critically wounded but stable."

"Komamura Sajin and Tetsuzaemon Iba, taichou and fukutaichou of the 7th division, wounded but stable. Kyoraku Shunsui, taichou of the 8th division, critically injured but stable and Ise Nanao, fukutaichou of the 8th division, stable." Things were starting to look better; at least there were some captains left, never the less this will take weeks to recover from to launch a counter-attack.

"Mugurma Kensei and Shuhei Hisagi, taichou and fukutaichou of the 9th division, stable." Isane plowed on, "Toushirou Hitsugaya and Matsumoto Rangiku, taichou and fukutaichou of the 10th division, stable."

Kenpachi Zaraki, taichou of the 11th division, whereabouts unknown."

"_Where the hell could Kenpachi be?" _Ichigo thought to himself as he tuned out the fukutaichou of the 11th divisions conditions, she doesn't fight much anyway.

"Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Kurotsuchi Nemu, taichou and fukutaichou of the 12th division, unharmed. Juushiro Ukitake, taichou of the 13th division, unharmed, and finally, Kuchiki Rukia, fukutaichou of the 13th, critically injured but stable."

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief that the casualties weren't too great, well, they were HUGE, but there was still an able fighting force. Losing the soutaichou was bad enough. If there were any more high-tier casualties, the Soul Society wouldn't be able to last long against the new threat.

Isane then began her closer, "Overall, approximately 4873 Shinigami below 5th seat, were slain, with another 900 wounded. If seeking treatment, please locate and enter the division barracks nearest you. There will be a meeting where the 13 division's taichou only will be in attendance, tomorrow at noon. Kurosaki Ichigo, please attend this meeting as well. Good day." With that, the call was hung up.

"_Finally I will be able to get some answers on what the hell is going on_." Ichigo thought to himself. He got up and opened up the door to Rakia's room to peek inside and check on how she's doing. He poked his head in and saw that she was hooked up to some sort of machine, possibly to restore her lost reaitsu.

He took a step inside the dimly lit room supported by the calm pitter-patter of the never ending storm above, mentally noting the rhythmic beat of the heart rate monitor that lay beside her. Ichigo promptly pulled up a chair to sit next to his wounded friend. Her chest was slowly rising and falling, signifying that she was indeed alive, which was a relief to him.

After his swift observation, he noticed that she was a tad bit paler than usual, even though her complexion was usually near snow white. As casually and gently as he could manage, Ichigo took her hand in his and to his dismay, she felt as cold as an ice cube, even though she was adequately smothered in blankets. In an effort to warm her, he began to rub her hands to create some friction. It wasn't really working but he continued anyway.

With a bowed head he began to dose off, eyes nearly shut after a couple minutes. When was the last time he slept? It must have been a long time ago because he has no idea himself.

* * *

_40 some odd minutes later, 4th division barracks;_

Unohana Retsu was marching through the hospital with purpose, checking on her high priority patients to make sure everything was O.K. As she came across Kuchiki Rakia's room, she noticed the door was slightly ajar. She took a peek inside and smiled, Kurosaki Ichigo was bent on Rakia's lap, snoring soundly. "_Shunsui would probably get a kick out of this_" She thought to herself. As much as she didn't want to disturb Ichigo right now, she really can't do with a certain substitute Shinigami having back troubles in the morning. Unohana tip toed over quietly and nudged Ichigo a bit, which in return made him shoot straight up.

"WOAH!" Ichigo yelped. He took a good look around at where he was and found Unohana staring directly at him. "Oh, must have dosed off a bit, what can I do for you Unohana-san?"

"Forgive my imprudence Kurosaki-san, but this is not a bunk house for resident Shinigami, this is a hospital." Unohana sternly spoke.

She gave a real sweet smile that made Ichigo almost jump out of his boots right then and there, if he was wearing any that is. He quickly nodded and got up, "Do you guys have any place I could sleep? I really need to get some quality rest."

Unohana replied, "Yes, there are quarters prepared for you at the Kuchiki manor. I assume you remember where it is from your previous visits?"

"Yeah, I'll be on my way then." He responded, "If Rukia wakes up, I would really like for you to tell me."

"I will notify you on any updates involving Kuchiki-san, and I will let her know that you wanted to see her immediately when she wakes."

"Thanks Unohana-san, I owe you one." And with that he disappeared out the door in a shunpo.

* * *

As Ichigo raced through the moon lit sky, hopping from roof to roof, the rain started to let up a bit. He came upon the Kuchiki manor, as mesmerizing as always, largely untouched by the battle. He was always slightly fond of this place. It held his most favorite spot to chat with Rukia while visiting in the Soul Society, the giant sprawling and elegant lake filled with koi fish. It was truly a beautiful sight, the way it captured the moons reflection on the surface water.

Ichigo sauntered up to the great gate and opened it, letting himself in. Silently moving up to the large door, he knocked gently and awaited his welcoming party, whistling to himself all the while.

Just then, the lock was removed and with a loud creek, the door seemingly pushed itself open. A small butler revealed himself and bowed with great respect, "Greetings Kurosaki-sama, we were expecting your arrival. Your quarters are prepared in their usual spot."

Ichigo thanked the butler and started on his way, eager to get some sleep when he spoke again. "Kurosaki-sama, if you may, your shihakushou seems to be rather filthy, I can have that washed up for you if you'd like."

He complied; with hardly any reason not to, his clothes were soggy and mucky, needing a good cleaning and maybe some tune ups on the side. Ichigo was getting quite tired of all the wholes that marred his outfit, it looked quite unprofessional.

After he removed his clothing save for a towel that was wrapped around his body that the butler handed him, he finally started off toward his salvation. As he opened up the door, he was met with a rather large bedroom, exactly as he left it. Conveniently, it was located directly next to Rakia's room, which even surprised Ichigo when Byakuya gave it to him. He promptly dove into the bed, and almost immediately fell into a deep dreamless slumber.

* * *

_Present time, Kuchiki manor;_

After Ichigo finished his little workout, he went out of his room just to be met with another butler. "_How do these guys always know when to show up_?" he thought to himself.

"Good morning Kurosaki-sama, I trust that you slept rather soundly?" The butler spoke in a rather monotone voice.

"Yeah, it was nice." Ichigo replied, feeling a bit nervous about this butler for some reason.

"That's good, I have had a hot bath drawn out for you already, and breakfast will be awaiting you upon your finishing. I believe you may just be interested in a warm meal, what is your preference?"

"Anything is fine," Ichigo quickly retorted, "I really appreciate the hospitality, you guys do way too much for me."

The butler shook his head and spoke, "Not at all Kurosaki-sama, Kuchiki-sama believed you would eventually court and wed his sister, Rukia-sama, and ordered us to treat you with the up-most respect."

Ichigo's throat went dry for a second and stuttered out, "Ah-ah, w-well that's was nice of him, I really do appreciate the things you guys do though. I'm going to go take that bath now if you don't mind, see you around."

"Enjoy yourself Kurosaki-sama, the day is long." And with that the butler turned on his heels and walked off leaving a stunned Ichigo.

* * *

_One bath and a hot meal later;_

Ichigo felt largely rejuvenated now, all it takes is a nice long rest, a bath and a delicious meal! With the division's head meeting slightly around the corner, he decided to go ahead and head off to the 1st division barracks.

As he entered the 1st division, what's left of it that is, he was met by Kyoraku Shunsui, who looked a little solemn compared to his usual not a care in the world demeanor. Shunsui took note of him and perked up a little. "Ahh, Ichigo, good to see you are in good health!"

Upon closer inspection, the senior Shinigami bore a plain black eye patch on his right eye, and part of his ear was missing, no doubt battle scars from the invasion from yesterday. Ichigo decided to speak as he got closer to him, "Hey Kyoraku-san, when is that meeting going to get under way?"

"Not too long from now, in fact, everyone should be showing up right about now." Shunsui waved Ichigo off to the side, motioning for him to take his place next to his self.

Ichigo followed his instruction and now later than 10 seconds, many wounded Shinigami materialized inside of the room, taking their places as well. Save for Kuchiki Byakuya, Kenpachi Zaraki and Yamamoto himself, everyone was here.

"Ahh… good morning everyone, glad you could make it." Shunsui spoke. "You have been called here today for obvious reasons, we must decide on our next course of action regarding this new threat."

"Cut the shit _Kyoraku," _Sui-Feng spoke, "what are we supposed to do without our leader?"

Shunsui took on an increasingly dark and dangerous look as he spoke, "We must wait for the Central 46"s orders. There is nothing else we can do but wait in that respect..."

"What do you mean there is nothing else we can do!?" she yelled back, "Are we just going to sit here and do nothing while our enemy gathers!?"

Kensei quickly cut in, "Stop it Sui-Feng, you're embarrassing yourself, let the man speak."

"Embarrassing myself!?" she retorted just as fast, "I know about the grudge you had against the soutaichou! I bet you're happy about his death you—

She was silenced by a roar from Komamura, "THAT"S ENOUGH SUI-FENG! YOU THINK YOU"RE THE ONLY ONE ENRAGED BY THIS!?"

The room was filled with more and more arguing between the captains, except for Ichigo and Ukitake who were as quiet as a mouse both staring at the scene bequeathed before them.

Shunsui sighed and clapped his hands to break up the war of words, "Ok, ok, ok, ok fellas, let's all calm down, we're not going to get anywhere if we don't work as a team, and let me tell you, this is the exact opposite."

"Kyoraku you bastard…." Sui-Feng cursed.

"The Gotei 13 wasn't created to mourn the death and destruction wrought on Soul Society." He continued, "We are the shields of the Soul Society, the protectors. We will, one step at a time if that's what it takes, move forward…We ARE the Gotei 13."

Everyone including Ichigo glared at the pink clad man, somewhat moved and motivated by his speech, knowing he too was hurting just as much, if not most of all in response to Yamamoto"s death. Ukitake smiled to himself knowingly, already having a great respect for his old friend, seeing he was really the only one here besides Unohana who knew his serious and stern side.

The room stood silent for a minute before Kyoraku started up again, "If we are to fight back against this new threat….and win. We must work as a team; we must combine our skills and power to form an unbeatable defense, and offense. I understand we all have our differences... But set that aside just this once, to honor the memory of the greatest man to ever serve Soul Society…. What say you?"

Everyone looked at each other and almost all at once, nodded. They seemed to have a new spirit flowing through them, one that was unbreakable. The once joking and laid back taichou of the 8th division, managed to take the helm of the Gotei 13 and reinvigorate the resolve of all ten remaining division heads in one swift stroke. The sun is rising in Soul Society, a new day has dawned, a day where the Shinigami shall cast off their fear, look forward, go forward and never stand still. They will not retreat, they will not age, they will not hesitate, and they will act as one.

"Now…" Shunsui began, "let's get down to business one a subject many of you probably have some concerns over…"

The Shinigami inhabiting the room all perked up, wondering what he was referring to. "It seems the enemy came to meet and seemingly try to recruit a man I know all of you probably have a bone to pick with… Aizen Sousuke."

* * *

**A/N** #2 - Hope you guys enjoyed. Plot thickens next chapter with everyone's favorite smooth talking Shinigami! Please note that I already have a full backstory planned out for both Aizen and Isshin, I'm still tweaking it to make it as interesting as possible, hope you guys will like it. As a reminder, I really, really, really, really want you guys to review. You don't know how much I actually want to see criticism of this hehe. I desperately would like to improve on my writing style, and your reviews could definitely help me in regards to that aspect. Till next time~

Oh yea... If anyone notices the little _Kyouka Suigetsu_ reference I made in here :D Kudo's, you are a true Bleach fan.


	4. Water Moon

Bleach is once again owned by Tite Kubo, not me ;_;

* * *

**A/N #1** - Hey guys, quick update today, mainly because I'm still sick and off from work, plus I really wanted to write some Aizen. Not much to say today, just be sure to review, I need that criticism or praise or whatever. You could say it motivates the writer I guess. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

**The Black Side of the Moon~ Water Moon**

* * *

_People,_

_Imitation of apes._

_All gods,_

_Imitations of people._

_~Aizen Sousuke_

* * *

_"Now…" Shunsui began, "let's get down to business one a subject many of you probably have some concerns over…"_

_The Shinigami inhabiting the room all perked up, wondering what he was referring to. "It seems the enemy came to meet and seemingly try to recruit a man I know all of you probably have a bone to pick with… Aizen Sousuke."_

"Aizen…?" Ichigo questioned, unsure of what the Quincy could possibly want with him. Since when did Quincy want to partner up with a Shinigami? Oh..well.. besides Ishida and himself. Aizen was still a mystery to Ichigo, that man is shrouded in so much smoke that it's difficult to decipher the true nature of his emotions. Luckily for him, he felt his feelings through _Kyouka Suigetsu_ after he was powerful enough to go head to head with the man after his training with _Tensa Zangetsu_. Even when Aizen practically ascended to godhood, he felt nothing but loneliness, grief and betrayal.

"What could the Quincy want with Aizen?" Ichigo asked, "And there is no way he would join up with them, Aizen only trusts himself."

"Well apparently, that is the case, since it appears that he outright denied the enemies help." Shunsui noted. "As of right now, we have no idea what they wanted with him. It seems the enemy somehow infiltrated the _Muken _from the inside, how that is possible, well we don't know that either."

Ichigo digested this information when Hitsugaya stepped in, "Well where is the bastard now!? Don't tell me they let him out!" The hate in his words could be easily read; he basically spat every syllable out with as much contempt as possible.

"Calm down Hitsugaya-chan," Shunsui demanded, trying to settle him down. "Aizen is still locked up in the _Muken_, I had some guards go down and check on him after the invasion, and they said he's still relaxing In his chair as coolly as ever." Even with previous events, Shunsui still try's his best to keep the mood as light as possible to avoid any unwanted confrontations.

After a moment of thinking Ichigo spoke, "Why don't we go talk to Aizen and see if he knows anything about the Quincy who attacked?"

"Do you seriously think he would tell us the truth?" Hitsugaya questioned. "That guy will do nothing to help us, he only follows himself."

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot." Ichigo responded, with a hint of doubt marring his words. Surely Aizen isn't the most trust worthy informant, but he never really lied too much to Ichigo in all the times they conversed. It appears that Aizen doesn't like the Quincy, so maybe he would let them in on something.

Shunsui contemplated this for a minute before saying, "Ahh, I guess Ichigo is right, what could we lose by at least hearing what he has to tell us, if anything at that? Ichigo, after this meeting, you will come with me to go check on him, he would probably talk to you the most out of everyone here."

Ichigo shook his head for a minute before uttering, "Fine." It's not as if he couldn't talk to him, he just really didn't feel like having to deal with Aisne's wit and games right now. The once bespectacled Shinigami was one of those people who play with you as long as possible, it's really disorientating.

"Well that's settled, now on with the next subject." Shunsui announced, "The Oozokutokumu will probably be showing up around tomorrow, depends on whenever they decide to "help"."

Everyone let out a long drawn out sigh besides Ichigo before Shunsui continued, "I don't like it any more than you guys do, but it's something that we're going to have to just deal with."

The relationship between the Royal Guard and the Gotei 13 was more or less strained. The Royal Guard looked down upon the Gotei with contempt, showing their superiority whenever they could. Even though it has been around a hundred years since they last set foot outside of the Royal Realm, only for the induction of Kirio Hikifune, the relationship between the two forces is well known to all higher ups in the Gotei 13.

"Now then, this meeting is over." Shunsui ruled, "We must wait for Central 46 to re-assign the ranks of the Shinigami and appoint a new soutaichou. Until then, go and rest, everyone's had a long day."

Everyone acknowledged this and started to disperse when Shunsui called, "Ichigo!"

Said Shinigami looked up and found the one eyed man walking towards him. He put an arm around Ichigo's back and spoke, "Alright, ready to go meet Aizen?" He had a goofy grin plastered on his face for some reason, how he could be so juvenile in times like this escaped Ichigo.

"Uhh , sure Kyoraku-san." Ichigo retorted. "_This really isn't going to be very fun_." He thought to himself.

"Come on, it won't be so bad." Shunsui assured, "I will be right behind you, and I'll see to it that he doesn't try anything funny."

Somehow Ichigo knew that Shunsui was bluffing when he said that, not only is Aizen more powerful than everyone in the Gotei 13, it would be really bad if he still had his zanpakutou.

Shunsui continued to ramble on about something as the pair walked in unison toward the entrance to the _Muken._

* * *

_Karakura town, Urahara Shouten;_

A large black garganta opened overhead, just outside the Urahara Shouten. Two Shinigami exited, one dressed in a green colored robe, coupled with a striped bucket hat, and another wearing a plain shihakushou with a white haori wrapped around his arm like a sash. With them, they carried a large man and a medium sized girl.

"Take the girl to her home and drop her off," the shop owner ordered, "Her power is useless now that her hair pins are destroyed."

The other Shinigami nodded and spoke. "What do you think the Oozokutokumu will do with my son? I don't even know myself, those bastards."

Urahara stared up at the bright crescent moon overhead and muttered softly "Only time will tell Isshin, hopefully their meeting will be brief."

"This is exactly why I didn't want to restore his "_powers_". Now he's caught the eye of the big guys." Isshin lamented. "Sometimes I think we made the wrong choice by stopping Sousuke."

"Well, there is nothing we can do now but wait. Sooner or later we will find out if what we did was a huge mistake or not." Urahara replied.

"Whatever, I'm starving, you want to come over to my place and get something to eat? It will feel like the old days!" Isshin let out a chuckle as he reminisced on the past. Things sure were simpler back then, now everything is really starting to get hairy.

"My, my, that would be lovely; you should call Ryuuken over too." Urahara replied, "We have some _things _to discuss anyway" He whipped out his fan and shook it to add dramatic effect.

"Oh boy, he's probably too busy counting his money to spare any of his time for us. I'll just drag him over if that's what it takes."

"Well then, that's settled." Urahara said, "Try not to destroy a whole city block." Isshin let out a laugh before he continued, "I'm going to go take Chad to his home, and I will meet back up with you in an hour or so at your clinic. See you then!"

Urahara waved goodbye and sped off into the night before Isshin moved in direction of his own destination.

* * *

_1st division, Muken;_

The colossal gate that kept whatever the _Muken_ held inside opened up, revealing a black void that seemingly went on forever. Shunsui stepped in followed by Ichigo, cautiously watching his step, unsure of what this place was. The pink clad man signaled for Ichigo to follow him as he silently moved through the darkness, as if he knew exactly where to go.

"This way Ichigo," Shunsui spoke, "You can get lost pretty easy in this place you know, and it's another dimension after all."

Ichigo gulped and kept on moving. Soon after, they came across what seemed to be the remains of a vault. It looked as if it was blasted open, probably by the Quincy who invaded Soul Society.

"Here we are, watch your step as you walk through here, you probably don't want to fall into the abyss over there." Shunsui casually pointed toward the floor by the bridge, which really wasn't a floor at all. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be a pitch black drop, who knows how long you will fall if you jump into it?

Ichigo carefully crossed over, mindfully paying attention to his footing. So this is where they locked Aizen up? This place is terrible; you can barely see anything even with a light source. It's so empty…practically void of all life and color. Nobody should be sentenced to such a place.

Suddenly, Shunsui stopped walking and turned around to face Ichigo. "He's right up ahead, tied up to that chair. I want you to go alone so you can get more out of him, I'm pretty sure it's all safe from here on out."

Ichigo nodded and stepped ahead of Shunsui, moving toward the large throne Aizen was supposedly inhabiting. Ichigo turned his head to see if Shunsui could still see him but to his dismay he was already out of view. He got his wits about him and moved closer and closer to his destination.

As the chair came into view, Ichigo's eyes went wide at what he saw. The wrappings supposedly restraining Aizen were gone and splayed out on the floor in front of it. Ichigo quickly ran up to the chair to inspect it closer. "Aizen! Where are you!?" He questioned as he felt for Aisne's reaitsu but it was to no avail, he was gone.

Just then, he felt a shiver run up his spine and he got a sick feeling in his gut, someone was behind him. He put his right hand on the handle of _Zangetsu_ and dared to turn around and was met with a shaggy looking man standing tall in front of him, donning a standard shihakushou. He bore a full beard, with long locks of chestnut colored hair, just reaching past his shoulders.

"Hello, Ichigo." The man spoke in a deep, sultry voice. "What brings you here of all places? Oh, and I see you have regained your powers, how expectant of you."

Ichigo stared at the man curiously for a moment, not understanding why he hasn't walked out the front door yet.

Aizen narrowed his eyes a bit as he noticed Ichigo's hostility toward him and he motioned for him to yield. "Come now, I appreciate the fact that you are so cautious and untrusting of your former _enemy_, but I bare you no threat right now."

"How and when the hell did you break out of those restraints?" Ichigo fired back.

"Honestly Ichigo, do you really think those petty wrappings could hold me?" Aizen retorted. "I have been free for almost a year now; all it took was a little patience. You might find in time that I have quite a bit of it."

In truth, Ichigo didn't think they could hold a man of Aisne's caliber for long, he was a mastermind after all. Why he puts his faith in anyone anymore is beyond him. The person he sacrificed his Shinigami powers for has been walking freely around the _Muken_ for over a year now, seriously? _"Wait…that means."_

"Hold on a second, I thought you lost your Shinigami powers." Ichigo mentioned. He vaguely remembers his zanpakutou shattering itself just before the Hougyoku rejected him.

"Oh yes, I knew you would question me about that." Aizen smoothly answered, "Well, it's quite the opposite really…..I became _Kyouka Suigetsu_..."

In one swift motion he reached out his arm and a handle began to materialize in the palm of his hand. After a couple seconds the blade was completely solidified, revealing the plain green hilted zanpakutou with the diamond shaped tsuba. Aizen brought the blade up to his face, holding it upside down and spoke, "As you can see, I still have my Shinigami powers Ichigo, more powerful than ever in fact." Aizen tilted his head and continued; "Now I can release _Kyouka Suigetsu_ without anyone even having to look at it." Ichigo's eyes panicked just before he shut them completely to avoid being put under his spell. "Its fine Ichigo, I never did put you under _Kanzen Saimin_ if you recall, and I'm not going to start now."

The blade dissipated from sight and Ichigo cracked one of his eyes open again. He would trust Aizen for now...

"So, what brings you here Ichigo? Have some questions about the Quincy who infiltrated the seireitei do you?" Aizen taunted.

"How do you-." Ichigo spoke as Aizen cut him off with the wave of his hand, dismissing him.

"Please Ichigo, I know that Kyoraku put you up to this, but its fine, ask away if you wish it." Aizen walked up past Ichigo and sat down in his chair, somewhat relaxing into it. He sucked in a breath of "fresh" air and exhaled before speaking softly, "Come now, time is short in regards to your schedule."

"Alright…I guess." Ichigo complied, unsure whether Aizen was planning something or not. "First of all, why the hell haven't you escaped yet? You can obviously just leave."

Aizen smirked and replied, "Well, if you haven't deduced already, doesn't it look like I'm waiting for something?"

"Waiting for what?" he questioned, confusion lacing every word. "_What could he possibly be "waiting" for? I swear this guy makes no sense_." Ichigo thought to himself silently.

Aizen stared at Ichigo for a moment before speaking, "That is for me to know and for everyone to eventually find out. There is no room for ignorance in my schedule, and by me informing you of my plan, it would only cause problems."

Ichigo slowly nodded as he continued, "Forgive me if that answer disappoints you. However, I will let you know that I will bring no more harm to your friends or the Gotei 13."

The substitute Shinigami perked up at the sound of that last sentence. "Really, why is that?" he questioned. The Aizen he knew would probably be murdering everyone in the seiretei right now in revenge. Maybe the Aizen he knew was just another _façade? _How many goddamn personalities does this guy have?

_"_Mainly because harming your friends no longer has a place in the grand scheme of things," He reassured, "Ichigo, you must understand, the only way I could ascend to godhood and take what is rightfully mine, included a vast amount of bloodshed, possibly the least amount at that time." Ichigo could almost sense a hint of remorse or guilt in his words, almost. That right there is a huge step for someone with Aisne's record.

"If you really want to know the truth, you would do best to take what I just said to heart, and not just at face value." Aizen spoke softly.

Ichigo remembered the emotions he felt coursing through _Kyouka Suigetsu_ and the words spoken between Aizen and Urahara that one fateful day and concluded that he had indeed misjudged this man. As heinous as the crimes he committed were, maybe they were indeed necessary when you look at the big picture. Surely he still didn't agree with the decimation of Karakura town, but he would get to the later when he hears the full story.

"Fine Aizen," Ichigo groaned, "let's move on to the next question. Aizen tentatively perked up in waiting for the oncoming interrogation. "What did the Quincy want with you?"

"I'm pretty sure you know this already Ichigo, but I will answer anyway." Aizen chided. "The leader of the Vandenreich, Yhwach, tried and failed to recruit me into his ranks."

"Well, why did you deny their help when you're serving a sentence of 20,000 years?" Ichigo asked. Even though Ichigo already knew the answer to the question, he's interested in what Aizen has to say.

"Why do you think?" Aizen retorted, "The Quincy want to destroy the Soul Society. That, my friend, is the complete opposite of what I want to achieve. Also, as we previously established, I do not need aiding from any outside source in regards to escaping." He chuckled a bit after the last words for some reason.

"If you say so." Ichigo stated, "Do you have any information on the Quincy that could help us, like location or numbers?"

Aizen closed his eyes for a minute in deep thought before replying, "Not exactly. I do not know their location or fighting force, but I do know why they are striking against the Gotei 13 if you are interested in a little history on whom you're fighting for."

"Sure," Ichigo replied, "I've been waiting for someone to fill me in on what the hell's going on." Even though he didn't fully trust Aizen yet, or barely for that matter, he felt that he should probably get some grasp on what and why the Quincy are attacking now. He does remember what Rukia told him a couple years ago about the Shinigami exterminating the Quincy. That alone would make him pretty pissed if that happened to his brethren.

"Very well, this event dates back about 1,000 years ago." Aizen began as he stood up and paced around. "Before Yamamoto Shigekuni formed the Gotei 13, there were 13 powerful Shinigami that led the organization known as the divisions. It was unorganized and very primitive in comparison to the ranks today.

Ichigo listened closely as Aizen continued his little story, "The divisions were a brutal fighting force that cared little for their comrades and affiliates, only murdering others to better themselves. Near the turn of the century, a Quincy slayed a top ranked Shinigami of the divisions, and a small battle broke out. That same small battle escalated into a full scale war between Shinigami and Quincy, which ultimately culminated in the slaughter of thousands of innocent souls and humans alike. As you can see, there is no right or wrong here, both sides were at fault for being careless."

Ichigo stared at Aizen for a moment in silence before he began his conclusion, "Around 800 years later, the Quincy reformed and began vaporizing many hollows, and so the Shinigami stepped in and virtually exterminated the entire race ruthlessly, women, children alike. Yhwach, the leader of the Vandenreich which is a relatively small splinter force of Quincy, was also one of the few survivors from the war 1000 years ago and the extermination. I am sure by now you can probably guess why the Quincy are attacking Soul Society."

"But most of the Shinigami alive today weren't part of the extermination or the war…" Ichigo concurred.

"Yhwach cares not for innocents Ichigo, he knows one thing and one thing only, and that is his blind hatred for Shinigami." Aizen said.

Ichigo let all of this soak in before finally speaking, "Alright, I guess that's really all I have to ask, I appreciate the information Aizen." Ichigo turned around and began walking off when Aizen spoke again.

"It's no problem Ichigo," he rebutted, "I do get rather lonely in here, as you can see there isn't much company."

Ichigo turned around and spoke, "Actually Aizen, I do have one more question."

"And what's that Ichigo?" Aizen calmly raised an eyebrow in question.

"When I battled you in Soul Society, why when I felt your blade, the only emotions that came from it were grief, loneliness and betrayal…?"

Aizen's eyes became distant before he swiftly turned around to hide his face, "That…..that is a story for another time Ichigo, maybe the next time we meet, I will inform you of my history, but now…. I am not ready to share that information with you."

Ichigo nodded in understanding before replying, "Thanks….Aizen…and bye." he turned around and started to walk back to Shunsui.

"Ichigo." Aizen interjected, "One last thing, if you should come in contact with the Royal Guard, please be weary of them. It is in your best interest to not let up your guard around those people." Ichigo nodded once more and Aizen waved him off and sat back down in his chair. He relaxed as he contemplated his previous actions of aiding Ichigo. Could he be the one to set things straight? Maybe...just maybe...Aizen closed his eyes as the substitute Shinigami disappeared into the black.

* * *

**A/N #2** - Sorry Orihime fans! I have nothing against her character, it's just that it's her power that is extremely detrimental to a person's story. The power to reject anything, the power to bring people back from the dead...Not going to have any of that mumbo jumbo here! When someone dies or is seriously wounded, I want it to mean something, and for it to mean something, that means I have to take out that game changer of a overpowered ability known as the Shun Shun Rikka. If you remember, Quilge did destroy her shield that she had put over Chad, so I just took it to the next level as a plot device. I'm sure you guys understand, so please, I'm sorry to any Orihime lovers out there, but she will not have a great role in this story. Also, to anyone saying Aizen is OOC in this story, I believe that he is not the completely cold hearted man as he is portrayed in the manga. I'm just going to leave it at that so I don't spoil any future events that take place in this story. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know if you spot any grammatical mistakes, I would like to get those out ASAP. Till next time...


	5. The Kurosaki Family Special

Bleach is once again owned by Tite Kubo, not me ;_;

* * *

**A/N #1** - Ahoy there! Forgive me for updating so late, had a rather packed schedule this week. I really had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially for the interactions between Isshin and Ryuuken. So I'm definitely looking forward to doing more of them in the future, so you can count on it. I don't really have much to say this time, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. As always, review!

3/14/2013 EDIT - Hello again, when you guys send reviews could you do it on your account if possible, makes it easier to reply. Thanks for reading!

* * *

**The Black Side of the Moon~ The Kurosaki Family Special**

* * *

_That wound which is as deep as the ocean,_

_That bloody murder which is as colorless as death._

_~Kaien Shiba_

* * *

Shunsui patiently observed the substitute Shinigami while he conversed with the prisoner who thankfully, was still bound to his chair. From the looks of things, getting answers out of the ever so loquacious Shinigami wasn't going to be as difficult as he imagined. He smirked to himself and lazily walked back to the entrance of the cell, whistling all the while.

Even though Sousuke isn't necessarily trusted anymore, it also isn't exactly in his nature to lie about a trivial matter such as the Quincy. There was no doubt in his mind that he was a valuable wealth of information, maybe _too_ much information; a walking dictionary if you will. Granted one of his favorite past times during his time as a Taichou of the Gotei 13 was loitering in the Seiretei's grand library. Spending hours upon hours analyzing and reading various scripture was common place for someone of Sousuke's caliber. You could say he was a bibliophile, he even excelled in calligraphy.

'_Yama-jii could have at least keyed us in on who exactly we are facing..._' Shunsui thought to himself. There was once a time when Yamamoto shared nearly everything with his students, but as of late, there was a small distance between them. He knew not why, but for some reason he had been acting quite oddly for the past couple of years. Maybe he knew this event was going to take place? _'That can't be right.'_ He would have taken some measures to prevent this if he knew there was an enemy waiting just around the corner…

Shunsui gripped his Zanpakutou, laid himself against the wall, and tipped his damaged conical hat over his eyes and suddenly wished he had a piece of straw or grass to chew on, it always helped him sleep. A quick nap never hurt anyone, especially when you have nothing else to do. Shunsui felt rather fatigued having to go through all of these emotional events. His usual schedule was a couple cat naps a day, and he hasn't even gotten one in the past two. That's not going to fly…..

To his dismay, as soon as he shut his eye, he felt Ichigo's reaitsu coming back down the path, toward the exit. Ichigo called his name and Shunsui let out a childish puff while straining to stand himself upright again, brushing himself off and acting like he wasn't sleeping on the job.

"_Ichigo-chan~_!" Shunsui sung while playfully waving his arms, "How'd your little talk go with Aizen?" Somehow, Shunsui knew he would at least get a name of the leader they were at war with since he met with him directly.

Said Shinigami looked up and waved back. "Pretty good, I guess. He gave me some background info on the Quincy but nothing to helpful." Ichigo's eyes showed an uncertainty about them, he will have to look into that later.

Shunsui's smile dropped and he replied, "Not even a location of their base?" He was expecting this, but oh well, the shock is not as grand when you aren't hoping for too much anyway.

He shook his head negatively and added, "All Aizen gave to me was some backstory and the name of their leader." Shunsui paid close attention as he continued, "His name is Yhwach, and the name of their group is the Vandenreich."

Shunsui's face paled after Ichigo finished and he softly spoke, barely a whisper like it wasn't intentional for it to be audible. "So it's him…"

Ichigo was a tad bit surprised to see his demeanor do a complete flip flop just like that. He seemed to dose off a moment, staring into space as if in deep thought and all a sudden he perked back up again. "Come Ichigo, we have much to do."

Shunsui tapped Ichigo's shoulder, turned around immediately and started on his way out of the _muken, _as if he was in some great hurry.

'_I hope Aizen can keep his word and not cause any more trouble; I bet if I told Kyouraku of his freed condition it would only provoke him._' Ichigo thought to himself. He felt out for Aizen's reaitsu to check on him, and he felt nothing. How he hid such overwhelming reaitsu with such ease always baffled him. What he would give to have control such as that, keeping cover was not always so easy for Ichigo.

Aizen had surprised him today; Ichigo could feel no lies or deceit in his words. Well, it's kind of difficult to tell since he's such a cunning linguist, but something in his gut told him that he spoke the truth and nothing but it. Still, its going to take a lot more than a little bit of information for him to feel safe with Aizen walking behind him.

Also, what could he possibly be waiting for in the _muken_? Has he been sitting in there all this time doing nothing but thinking, or has he left on his own volition since his incarceration? Also, why did he warn him of the Royal Guard? Leave it to Aizen to go to him with questions In hopes of finding answers, just to have more questions stacked up afterwards than you did before.

'_I know he means well, but sheesh_.' Ichigo noticed Shunsui was getting ahead and he quickened his pace. He turned back to check on Ichigo and put on a quirky smile for some reason. '_He never ceases to lighten up the mood does he?_'

Shunsui and Ichigo climbed up the long staircase that led back out of the _muken_. When they got to the gate, Shunsui closed it shut and placed some form of seal on the lock with his _kidou_.

'_Yeah right, like that will keep Aizen locked in._' Ichigo murmured to himself, finding it slightly humorous. Shunsui turned back around again and motioned for him to follow all the way back to the temporary 1st division quarters.

After they arrived, a messenger materialized and spoke with urgency, "Kurosaki-sama, Unohana-Taichou requests your presence immediately for an update on the condition of Kuchiki-Fukutaichou."

He bowed and immediately disappeared in a burst of shunpo, in a rush like usual. Ichigo looked over to Shunsui for his approval and he waved him off, "Go to her Ichigo-chan, I need to speak to Mayuri about these medallions the Quincy use anyway, among other things of course."

Maybe Rukia is finally awake? Positive thoughts raced through his mind as he nodded toward Shunsui and silently left off in direction of the 4th.

* * *

_Karakura Town, East Block;_

The sun was low in the sky, darkness engulfing the city of Karakura as day passed into night. The streets were rather quiet for this time of day, with a couple cars appearing here and there. There was a lone man dressed in a well-kept navy blue suit with his hands shoved in his pockets, walking silently along the road and with purpose. Soon enough he came to his destination, the "Karakura General Hospital". He invited himself in and walked through the sliding doors that led to the receptionist desk.

"Yo!" Isshin happily spoke. The receptionist who was absorbed in a book grumpily shut it and met eyes with him. "Do you know if Ishida Ryuuken happens to be available right now….?" Isshin quickly looked at his nametag, "Kudo-san."

The receptionist grumbled something to himself before speaking, "Doctor Ishida is currently in an operation right now. Do you mind waiting a little bit?"

Isshin ruefully scratched his head and nodded, "I guess so. I didn't come all the way to town for nothing!" Leave it to Ryuuken to be busy this late in the day! He should at least have some assistants or something to help with his work.

The not so happy man was about to respond before the elevator beeped and opened revealing a more than disappointed Ryuuken. He was dressed in his usual light blue suit with a pair of bloody scrubs on, coupled with some light spectacles.

"Waiting won't be necessary, thank you." He spoke, turning toward Isshin, "And what do you want Mr. Kurosaki?" He pushed up his glasses and wore an emotionless face, as per usual.

Isshin took a good look at Ryuuken before bursting out in laughter, "What are you giving me that serious look for! I just came to chat about old times you know!"

"What about the old days could be worth conversing about Kurosaki?" he replied, pulling out a cigarette and a lighting it. He inhaled and let out of a long stream of smoke before continuing, "Let's get to the point now, I want to know whether I will be up all night or not, so don't keep me waiting." He waved to the receptionist to disappear and he went straight out the door in compliance.

Isshin gave him a thumb's up before crouching down next to the wall where Ryuuken had his legs propped up. He stared up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head and began, "Well, it seems we may have….a problem."

"What kind of problem? Don't tell me you need me to save your ass again." There was once a time when Isshin and Ryuuken were best pals, fighting side by side against the forces of evil. But oh boy, that was quite a long time ago. Sure enough, they were still best friends, they always would be. Suffering one adventure after another with someone usually does that to you, even if you don't begin on the greatest terms.

Isshin brought his hands up in defense and quickly denied, "Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, don't jump to conclusions so fast!"

"Well then what is it?" he replied. You could really tell he was losing his patients fast. He crushed his cigarette is a portable tray and brought out another one, lighting it with expert speed and precision.

"Uhh," Isshin stuttered, "it seems Ichigo has come in contact with the Vandenreich…" He closed his eyes and braced himself for the reaction from Ryuuken, but to his surprise, none came.

After a moment he heard a slight chuckle escape Ryuuken's mouth followed by, "And what, pray tell, do you want me to do about that Isshin?" Said Shinigami got up and started to pace back and forth. "I have no business in these matters anymore, you know that."

"I know, but it's a bit more complicated than that," He replied. "You know with all these Quincy going around, there's a good chance Ichigo will awaken his true-"

"And then what?" Ryuuken interrupted, "What would you have me do?"

"Uh, how about we finish this conversation over at my place, Urahara is coming to!" Isshin quickly changed the subject, hoping to calm the Quincy.

"Fine, I knew you would get in the way of my work. I run a hospital if you haven't noticed. Unlike you, I actually treat my patients." He scoffed. Ryuuken actually put on a small smile and started to remove his hospital clothing.

"Don't be so cruel!" Isshin shrieked in a girly tone.

Ryuuken threw off his scrubs into the bin next to him and put on an overcoat. "So what are we having for dinner tonight? I trust it is something decent?" he mocked, "I need some sort of initiative to come over, other than to listen to one of Kisuke's many stories that is."

"I'll fix us up the Kurosaki family special!" Isshin enthusiastically yelped, waving his arms to add a dramatic effect. "This is a special occasion of course! When's the last time the three of us got together anyway?"

"Well, if you don't remember, since you were probably to drunk," Ryuuken deadpanned. "All three of us went bowling last week."

"Oh yeah…I do remember that…sort of..." Isshin scratched his head in thought in a fruitless attempt at recollecting the event.

"You know, the only reason why I'm going to help you is because of Masaki." Ryuuken stated plainly. "I owe her that much." He took another puff of his cigarette and blew it out. He offered one to Isshin in a friendly gesture but he shook his head negatively.

Isshin put on a serious face and replied, "Yeah, I know." '_Oh Masaki…only if you were still here today, I miss you so much_.'

"Now about this foolish boy of yours….."

"Hey!" Isshin defended, "What's this about foolish!? He's still growing up you know!"

Ryuuken uncharacteristically grinned, "Well, he sure does resemble his father quite a bit, you know that old saying? '_Like father, like son?_' I guess it really is true."

"Yeah well, your son is a carbon copy of yourself when you were his age too you know." Isshin retorted.

"He is not; he's brash, impudent, and irresponsible." Ryuuken chided, "Clearly a '_carbon copy'_ as you say.

"Speaking of which," the Shinigami said, "Where is that son of yours?"

"Oh, I sent him home." He replied, pushing up the bridge of his glasses yet again. "He came to ask me about what's going on with the sudden surge of Quincy appearing. I would prefer he stay out of this."

"Ahh, I see what you mean." He added. "If I had any choice in the matter, I wouldn't have gotten Ichigo involved in this business again. But you know, his Shinigami girlfriend wouldn't stop bothering me about it, so naturally, I couldn't say no!" Isshin clasped his hands together and acted like some teenager who was in love.

"Girlfriend you say?" Ryuuken responded. "I really hope my son isn't gay, he hasn't even bothered with the opposite sex. Somehow I envy you."

Isshin let out a snort that almost turned into a full blown laughter. "Aww, its ok Ryuu-chan! Your son will make you proud! Myself? I expect grandchildren by the end of year!"

"Don't get to ahead of yourself _Kurosaki_; if she's anything like Masaki, it's going to take a lot longer than that."

"Yeah, whatever, at least my son isn't a homosexual!"

"You keep out of that one, I didn't ask for your input on the matter!" Ryuuken warned darkly, gripping the Quincy cross in that lay in his suit pocket threateningly.

Isshin took the hint and brought up his hands in mock defense. "Hey, hey, Ryuu-chan! I was just joking around! Hey, wait, don't fire that thing! I'm not even in my Shinigami form!"

Isshin sprinted out the door in a panic and Ryuuken followed him into the night. Just like old times.

* * *

_4__th__ division barracks;_

A strong wind rippled through the seiretei, the moon shining bright over head with clear skies. The day's cleanup had gone nicely, many of the damaged buildings had been cleared, and the roads were swept off with precision. By the looks of things, everything would be back to normal in the next week or so, architecturally speaking. The 4th division rather was quiet now, with most of its occupants currently being in a deep slumber. Ichigo was walking through the pathway that led to the entrance when he spotted Unohana just outside the doors, seemingly waiting for him.

"Unohana-san!" Ichigo half whispered, half yelled. He ran up to the Shinigami and continued, "Unohana-san, how is Rukia doing?"

"Ah, hello Kurosaki-kun, Rukia's overall condition is quite alright, but there is a problem." She spoke evenly. He braced himself for the bad news. "The weapon she was wounded with seems to have damaged her soul beyond my repair, and the result being that she is currently paralyzed from the waist down."

Ichigo's face took on a horrified expression for a moment. '_Just as I thought, those damn Quincy weapons, I will have to get her to Inoue immediately_.'

"Currently, like I said, there is no way to fix her condition, so she will be discharged from the Gotei 13 indefinitely." Unohana added. "Usually, one is not allowed to leave the Gotei 13, but she is a special case of course."

'_That's just wonderful_' Ichigo thought, '_Not only did her brother die, but now they're relieving her of her duties_!' Rukia's pride is really going to take a beating from this one, she's going to have to build herself back up from nothing!

"Am I allowed to go and see her?" Ichigo said, placing his hand on the wall and releasing a deep sigh. Ichigo was positive that she needed some comforting right now, there's no way she should keep it all bottled up inside.

Unohana looked indifferent as she spoke, "Well, you must understand, her emotional state is quite delicate right now, so I advise you exercise caution when speaking to her."

He massaged his temples as he responded, "Did someone tell her about Byakuya?"

"Of course, she was notified not too long ago." She motioned for Ichigo to come inside and he complied. "She hasn't shown much outward emotion but that is completely natural with her, she usually hides what she is truly feeling."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Ichigo turned back to Unohana and continued, "Listen, I'm going to go check on her, if you don't mind, in the next couple of days, I can get Inoue to heal her, she will probably be able to help."

"That will be fine." Unohana agreed, "If you will excuse me, I have some patients to check up on." She curtly bowed and moved off into the barracks.

Ichigo waited till she was out of sight and then darted off to his own destination, which was Rukia's room. As he came upon it, he faltered and stopped. '_Dammit, try not to do anything stupid Ichigo, you don't want to upset her even more_.' He whispered to himself.

He pushed the door open and took a step inside. The room was dimly lit with moonlight, and Rukia lay in bed, comfortably on her side facing the window. Ichigo quietly tip-toed over to see if she was awake and noticed her breathing wasn't very even. He deduced that she was indeed awake, and ever so gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Rukia..." he whispered, unsure of really what he should say. He waited for a response and her eye fluttered open. She struggled to turn herself over and came face to face with him.

"Ichigo…." She spoke, disbelievingly. "Is that you…?" She reached out and grabbed the front of his shihakushou and found that he really wasn't a part of her imagination.

To Ichigo's surprise she immediately pulled him into an embrace, flinging her arms around his shoulders. "Oh Ichigo!" she half cried, "Thank god you're ok! They wouldn't tell me anything about you!"

She pressed her face into his chest and he could feel the wetness gathering. He put his arms around her to ease her sobs and spoke soothingly, "Rukia…it's ok….I'm fine, I'm here for you now..."

"N-N-Nii-sama….He…" she sputtered. Ichigo drew circles on her back and rocked gently in an effort to calm her down, but he figured he should really let her get it all out. Keeping her emotions in like she usually did wasn't the best course of action. Sometimes it's best just to let it all out.

'_I really don't think she should be sitting up like this…_' he thought to himself. "Rukia, give me a second." He urged her. She had a vice like grip on his shihakushou, as if she were holding on for dear life.

He scooted into the bed with her as best he could and wrapped his arms around her again, completely enclosing her in him. He continued his ministrations as she wept into him and eventually her breathing began to even out. He took a good look at her, and noticed she had a peaceful look on her face. He let out a small sigh in relief that she calmed down. For some reason he held her even tighter than before. '_I guess I should just stay here, no point in waking her up…_' He thought to himself.

He got as comfortable as he possibly could and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, they were both asleep, together in each other's arms.

* * *

_Karakura, Kurosaki Clinic;_

Karin and Yuzu were both tucked into bed, sleeping soundly. Down below, in the kitchen, sat Isshin, Urahara and Ryuuken. All three of them staring wordlessly at each other with a pile of food in front of them, Isshin picked up a pair of chopsticks enthusiastically and smiled brightly.

Urahara whipped out his fan and started waving it in his usual manner, and Ryuuken pushed the bridge of his glasses up for the millionth time that night.

"Alllll-riiiightt!" Isshin emphasized greatly, stretching out every syllable as long as possible. "Let's eat!"

"Oh my," Urahara giggled, "I'm not going to be the one to clean this mess up!"

"This isn't my house; don't expect me to do the dishes." Ryuuken mumbled, picking up his chop sticks as well.

All three of them dug in, completely forgetting what they came to talk about.

* * *

**A/N #2 - **For a quick look into the future, next chapter I will most likely be introducing Zero Squad. Also, how about that new chapter that came out today? I freaking loved it! Kubo always seems to deliver on his flashbacks, no matter what. That ending really opened up the door on a lot of possibilities. I'm not going to go into great detail on all the new theories I made, so i'm going to leave it at that. Tell me what you guys think, and let me know if you spot any glaring mistakes, I gotta weed those out. Till next time!


	6. The Undead

Bleach is once again owned by Tite Kubo, not me ;_;

* * *

**A/N #1 - **Hey guys, a little update for you today. Remember when I said there was going to be the Royal Guard this chapter? Well, woops I lied. I decided to start a little side story that's been briefly mentioned in the past chapters that's going to play a rather large role in the future of the story. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy. Be sure to review and tell me what you like or don't like so I can fix it. Appreciate it! In regards to the review saying i'm kissing up to Aizen and that Ichigo shouldn't trust him. Well you hit it right on the money. Because he doesn't trust him _yet._

Also, I think it might be time to change this to M... Nothing to bad right now, but I don't feel like being responsible for giving young people bad thoughts. So if you are of young age, read at your own risk. If any of you think so be sure to tell and ill do it.

-Juha Bach's name was confirmed to be Yhwach

-Haschwald's name was confirmed to be Haschwalth

* * *

**The Black Side of the Moon~ The Undead**

* * *

_Any one time we throw away pride_

_We take a step closer to becoming beasts._

_Any one time we kill an emotion_

_We take a step back from becoming beasts._

_~Kenpachi Zaraki_

* * *

The night was young in the eastern side of Rukongai , district #54; _Fugai _ they called it. Being a particularly vile place, law and order was virtually nonexistent. The Rukongai itself was ordered from #1 to #80, north, south, east and west, #1 being the closest to the Seiretei and unfortunately, the safest place to live. After the 10th district, living conditions began to deteriorate, and by the 50th, the poverty and violence hits a whole new level. Rape, theft, gang wars; you name it, they were all commonplace here.

A man, donning only the lower half of a Shinigami's shihakushou and a ripped haori trekked down the central road that led all throughout the district. His face heavily scarred from what looks to be burn wounds, and his torso completely wrapped in bandages. He had a worn and dull zanpakutou thrown over his shoulder, coupled with a slouched back and emotionless face. A small sleeping girl with pink hair lay sound asleep on his broad back, how she hung there while snoring was still a mystery to him, but he need not dwell on it for too long.

The occasional passer byer immediately froze not only in fear, but in result of his monstrous reaitsu. As much as he tried to keep it under control, the effort was in vain. Most normal spirits still passed out from prolonged exposure even when his reaitsu is subdued to his lowest level possible, mostly because his control of it was pretty subpar.

He let out a groan as his stomach begged him for food and water. '_How long….._' he thought to himself. '_How long have I been walk'n... 3 days, 4 days? Tch…._'

Kenpachi Zaraki began to dwell on the events that led him on his journey, in which had no clear destination, only a goal; power.

* * *

_Day of the Vandenreich Invasion, 2__nd__ hour;_

A gentle breeze made its way through the Seireitei while screams of agony filled the air.

Yet another Shinigami's bifurcated corpse fell to the floor under Haschwalth's blade as he effortlessly cut through more and more victims of the 13th division. You could just barely make out his figure under his advanced _hirenkyaku, _which proved to be a wonderful perk indeed. The meager skills and coordination of the Gotei 13 without the leadership of a Taichou was a sad sight indeed.

"This is fucking impossible!" Shrieked a distraught 6th seat, "fall back to Uki-"

But he was interrupted by a blade hidden under his attacker's long white cloak, cutting his skull straight down the middle, instantly ending his life. Haschwalth came out of his _hirenkkyaku_ and paused for a moment, wiping the blood and gore off of his weapon with a cleaning cloth in which he kept conveniently in his pocket. The Quincy then strategically moved out the way of an ever flowing river of blood moving in his direction to keep his boots clean as he turned around and sought out His Majesty, in which Yhwach nodded, signifying his approval.

"It seems things are going quite well Your Majesty." He said simply. "These Shinigami proved to be quite the unworthy foe; I _did _give them one chance to retreat. It would have served them well to have taken it."

"That is understandable." Yhwach said, taking his time in replying. "The Gotei 13's power does not lie in the lower seats, but the division heads."

There was some movement under a piece of rubble, revealing a heavily wounded Shinigami. He pushed it off him and panted heavily, struggling to live. Yhwach and Haschwalth took notice of this and the latter began to move toward him before Yhwach raised his hand in disapproval.

"It's fine." He said, his expression blank. "This one will die of his wounds shortly; do not feel the need to overly exert yourself, for there is still much to be done."

Haschwalth simply nodded slowly and decided it was best not to pursue the matter further. Surely His Majesty was just acting in his Advisor's best interest, but it seemed a bit cruel to leave a half dead man breathing his last breaths in agony rather than finishing him off. Even for Haschwalth, that was a bit too much, his way of killing including swift deaths. Many a time his victims felt no pain, only the cold blackness of nothing, which was actually a blessing in disguise.

Suddenly, Haschwalth felt a drastic change in reaitsu and stretched his senses out to feel what caused it. His eyes widened slightly at his findings and he motioned to His Majesty.

"It seems Kuchiki Byakuya has fallen." Haschwalth noted. '_The first high casualty of the invasion would be him._'

"I see." His Majesty swiftly replied. "That is quite a significant development indeed.."

The two waited for a moment in absolute silence as they waited patiently for the arrival of the Soutaichou. His company is an expected one. Everything would go according to plan though, it wouldn't be difficult to entrap the enraged Soutaichou, who is blinded by his hatred for the Quincy and the loss of his most trusted subordinate.

"This is taking much longer than expected." Haschwalth broke the silence. "Even though casualties are heavily in our favor, our time on this plane will come to an end soon."

"Yeah," Yhwach replied. "It seems the one weakness our Sternritter have is naivety, we have plenty of time though."

Yhwach opened his mouth to say something else but was rudely interrupted after a crushing reaitsu engulfed the two of them. Needless to say, they could both endure it with ease.

Kenpachi Zaraki stood tall with the mutilated bodies of three Sternritter piled on his back like luggage, his zanpakutou piercing them like a shish kabob.

"Yo." He said cockily, a wicked grin plastered on his face. "You two the boss of these little shits here on my back?"

Yhwach kept silent as he stared at Kenpachi, his smug expression in place. Haschwalth noticed the growing tension and decided to step in.

"Three Sternritter….How did you-?"

"It's nothing special." Kenpachi interrupted. "The first one was just trash; all he did was become a huge ape that made loud noises, so I just spilt its guts on the floor." He scratched the back of his head and let out a big yawn like he was bored.

Haschwalth kept a calm front as he continued. "The second one, well she was an annoying bitch that explained her powers forever and forever. I couldn't even hear her because of the other guy's scream'n, so I just ripped her throat." He threw their bodies on the floor and violently wedged his blade out of them, which caused quite a mess. "The third one… He was pretty average, only because he transformed into me. It wasn't that simple, but in the end, all I had to do was become stronger than my imitation."

"I see." Haschwalth replied. "I did hear that you are a monster, I guess the rumors are true then."

Kenpachi let out a manic laugh. "I ain't interested in you, white beanpole; I just came here to…..KILL YOU!" He whipped the blood off of his zanpakutou and instantly brought it down upon Yhwach.

He proceeded calmly and brought his arm up to block the devastating blow with his forearm. A massive explosion ensued which engulfed all three of them in blinding dust and smoke.

"Your Majesty!" Haschwalth called out in slight panic. He knew His Majesty was capable of great things, but it never hurt to be safe.

As the debris cleared enough so there was slight visibility, it revealed Yhwach confidently holding Kenpachi's blade in his bare hands, unscathed.

"What the hell!?" He roared, drawing his zanpakutou back for another blow. Yhwach stared at him and as Kenpachi blinked, he completely disappeared from sight.

'_He vanished!_' Zaraki looked around himself in a panic and saw nothing. In an instant, something connected with his chest with such force, that he could feel his organs compact on impact. It sent him sailing through the air and into a buildings wall, effectively knocking him out for a few seconds.

Kenpachi struggled to get up and tasted the copper-like sensation of blood cumulating in his mouth. He deftly spit it out and wiped the remnants of it off of his face, putting on his usual wicked smile that vanished for a moment. Spotting Yhwach standing motionlessly and menacingly by the white haired Quincy, Kenpachi swiftly ripped his eye-patch off and the area erupted in an aura of golden reaitsu. This however, had no effect on the pair as Kenpachi's surroundings were destroyed by his power.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Zaraki questioned. "Come and get me you pussy!" Yhwach's smile grew even wider at this remark.

"What am I waiting for? He mocked. "I'm not waiting for anything. I'm just observing one of my war potentials is all."

"The hell you are!" Zaraki let out another maniacal laugh and charged toward Yhwach a second time. He brought his zanpakutou down on him again and to his dismay, only connected with the ground.

He suddenly felt a hand on his back and froze on the spot. '_SHIT, he's behind me!_'

"You don't get it do you? _Kenpachi_ Zaraki." Yhwach spoke, emphasizing his self-proclaimed title with a humorous tone. "You are like a child, a child who's just learned how to stand, and now you're trying to take your first steps."

Zaraki's eyes widened as he felt a gaping hole open up in his torso, blinding pain threatening to shut down his body. He fell to the floor with a clunk, and lay motionless.

"It's quite a shame really." He spoke. "You could be so much more, Zaraki of Kenpachi. And yet you wear these chains, chains that make you weak."

'_He's too strong…_' Zaraki thought to himself. '_Am I? Am I going to….die? Like this? I can't….. I have to get stronger…..'_

Yhwach let out a sigh and walked back over to Haschwalth, stepping over Zaraki's body.

"Haschwalth." He called, waving to him. "Call for Royd Lloyd, I think it is time for me to speak to Aizen Sousuke, Yamamoto Shigekuni will be arriving shortly."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He obeyed, using his telepathic power to summon the Sternritter. He placed his hands on the ground and drew a line in the floor, creating a large shadow. A pale bald man stepped out of the darkness and bowed deeply to Yhwach who in turn waved him off.

"Royd, your job is simple." He spoke with haste. "Become me, and distract Yamamoto for as long as possible, and do not, by any means, try to capture his Bankai. It will destroy you if you do so. I shall be back soon enough."

"Yes your majesty!" he saluted, and began to take shape of Yhwach under his order.

Yhwach disappeared into the air as he moved off in location of the 1st division while his doppelganger and Haschwalth prepared themselves for Yamamoto's arrival.

Royd walked up to a still semi-conscious Kenpachi, knelt down, and grabbed hold of his throat. He slowly pulled him up until his feet were hovering above the ground.

'_Fuck...' _He cursed. '_This isn't fair; I can't move my body…'_

"How pathetic….." The fake chided. "Certainly Your Majesty put too much faith into the likes of you."

He started to squeeze his throat harder, and Zaraki began to feel what little life force he had left begin to leave him.

"Goodbye Za-"

The fake was cut off when an enraged Yamamoto Shigekuni landed just to the right of him, a wave of burning hot reaitsu washing over him. Just the touch of such furious and immense reaitsu sent chills down his spine.

Zaraki was thrown to the side roughly, hitting his head on a jagged piece of rubble, and that's all it took to make him pass out.

* * *

_Muken, Same Hour;_

Yhwach blasted open the vault that led to Aizen Sousuke's lonesome cell in the pit of the void. He took a step inside after the smoke cleared and moved off into the darkness. After a minute or two, he met face to face with the man himself, securely strapped to his throne. Aizen just stared at him with the same smug smile he gave everyone, awaiting his audience patiently.

"Aizen Sousuke." Yhwach spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"Good evening, Yhwach is it?" Aizen replied. "Forgive me if I am incorrect, it's been around a thousand years since we last met. I see you haven't changed much."

Yhwach let out a small chuckle. "Well, it seems you have taken up some interesting fashion." He eyed him from head to toe and continued. "I also notice you haven't been taking care of yourself quite adequately. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Oh?" Aizen questioned with a mocking tone. "You mean my facial hair? I don't necessarily have many people to impress down here if you really must know. If you want to help me with this little problem, you can come up here and-"

"Enough of this." Yhwach interjected, quickly losing his taste for small talk. "I am offering a way to get you out of here if you help lead my attack against the Royal Realm. What say you?"

Aizen stayed silent and bowed his head for a moment as Yhwach stared him down, eagerly awaiting his response. Aizen then looked directly into his eye and stared back unblinkingly.

"Well?" Yhwach asked impatiently. "What is your response?"

Aizen let out a small and amused laugh. "Excuse me? Forgive me of my rudeness, but when did I ever ask for such help, especially from the likes of you? _Quincy._"

"Bastard…" Yhwach whispered. "Fine, you can stay down here and rot for all eternity. I care not anymore, goodbye Sousuke."

"Tootles." Aizen teased uncharacteristically. "It was nice having some company in here for once."

Yhwach scoffed back at him and turned abruptly, leaving the ever smirking Shinigami alone in the dark.

* * *

_Seiretei, Shortly after the Vandenreich's departure;_

Zaraki cracked his blood crusted eyes open to find Unohana Retsu kneeled over him, working her kidou over his body professionally. He let out a groan and reached his arm out and patted the ground next to him in search of his missing zanpakutou.

"Please calm yourself, Zaraki-Taichou." She demanded. "Your wounds are rather severe, and you would do best to let me continue my work undisturbed."

Kenpachi had other ideas though. He pushed her away and tried to stand up.

"Where are those bastards?" He seethed. "I'm not finished with them yet!"

"Please lay back down, Zaraki." She replied. "They have long since left, the invasion is over."

He fell back down on his back and Unohana took it as a hint that he would let her finish what she started. While he did appreciate what she was doing for him, he would have fought to his final breath if the enemy were still here.

"I need more power..." He spoke to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. He gripped his fallen zanpakutou hard and raised it in the air, a grip so tight that his entire arm was shaking with tension.

"Tell me….your name….." He begged. "Please….I want to get stronger…tell me…..tell me…" He repeated this for a moment and stared blankly at his blade.

He let out a whimper at the negative response his zanpakutou gave him and let out a desperate wail. "TELL ME YOUR NAME!"

Unohana jumped a little bit in surprise at the volume and suddenness of his pleas. She closed her eyes sympathetically and continued her work diligently.

Zaraki dropped his blade back to his side and gave up, closing his eyes solemnly. '_I'm weak…I want to fight….I want to fight him….I WANT TO WIN!_' He screamed in his mind. '_Wait..what? I want to win? Yes…I will get stronger! I will defeat him!_'

A smile grew on his face, and soon his psychotic laughter filled with air. As he calmed down and came back to reality, a look of dread spread across his face. He took a good look at his unresponsive zanpakutou, and silently he made a vow.

"Retsu." He called, a hint of wonder in his voice. "How do….how do I learn my zanpakutou's name?"

She looked at him curiously for a moment before replying. "Well, it is different for every Shinigami. Learning your zanpakutou's name is the test of an individual's will to find one's self. Do you get what I am saying…Zaraki-Taichou?"

"To find one's self…" He murmured to himself. "But how do I do that?!"

"It will come to you eventually, like it does to all of us." She assured him. "Sometimes, you need to go back to your roots to find your answer."

"Go back to my roots….." He spoke to himself.

Zaraki continued to think silently about what she said to him, trying to figure out a way to find himself….whatever that meant! '_How….find myself….maybe…_'

Unohana discontinued her healing Kidou and concluded, "All finished, Zaraki-Taichou. You are quite lucky none of your vital organs were damaged."

Kenpachi sat up, and pushed himself up off the floor, standing tall once again. He cracked his back, neck, and finally his knuckles and smiled in satisfaction.

"Yeah, yeah, I appreciate the help once again Doc." He thanked her, albeit in his own way.

Unohana covered up a little giggle that escaped her mouth with her hands while observing him one last time. His facial scarring from being in such close proximity to _Zanka No Tachi_ was still visible, but his major wounding was practically healed.

"You seem to be in able condition to move on your own for now, please take it easy for a couple days, Zaraki-Taichou."

"Nah." He said plainly. "I can handle myself. Anyway, mind doing me a favor?"

Unohana perked up at his question. "And what's that Zaraki-Taichou?"

"Well, I thought about what you said." He began. "And I came to a conclusion. I'm going on a trip and I won't be back for a couple days, if you guys can live without me for that long. I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell the others that I left."

Unohana nodded in understanding. "If you promise to come back within the week, I will keep my lips sealed Zaraki-Taichou, just please come back alive, or at least in a state where I can fix you." Her voice was so sweet that it was borderline evil. It felt like a threat, no…It was a threat!

"Uhh, ok….I guess." He replied uneasily. "I better get going; I got a long way to walk!"

Unohana could only stare as the man sprinted off toward his destiny.

* * *

_20 minutes later;_

The 11th division was quiet, not even a mouse could be heard stirring inside of the barracks. Mainly because it was completely empty, with most of its occupants dead from the invasion. Kenpachi Zaraki invited himself in and sauntered in direction of his quarters. He came upon them and opened the door, revealing the space he rarely slept in, seeing that he always passed out somewhere else. He then moved to the cupboard by his bed and opened it up, revealing his Fukutaichou, Kusajishi Yahiru, who was curled up in a catlike ball sleeping soundly.

He poked her with his finger before speaking. "Yachiru!" He whispered. "Wake up!"

After a couple more pokes she finally stirred and opened her eyes. She groggily wiped away her sleepy eyes and they widened when she saw who was in front of her.

"Ken-chan!" she screamed, and embraced him in a childish hug. Zaraki rolled his eyes as he pried her off of him. He set her down on the floor and sat down in his chair, using his arm as support for his head.

"Yachiru, I got to go somewhere, uhh, I'm going on a business trip! Yeah..." He obviously lied.

"Can I come?" She immediately responded. Zaraki scratched his head, trying to think up other lies on why she couldn't accompany him on his sure to be dangerous "business trip".

"Well…" He started. "It's a little bit more complicated than that… I think….You might have to stick this one out." He awaited her response and got nothing as she processed his blunt words.

Soon enough she let out a disappointed cry and pressed further. "Awe, come on Ken-chan! You can take me anywhere!"

Kenpachi decided that he was getting nowhere with this and finally gave in. "Fine! But we have to leave immediately, come on Yachiru."

He motioned for her to get on his back and she did so, instantly he was out the door in a hurry.

* * *

_Present time; Rukongai_

And so he found himself, walking to nowhere. Unohana said that it would come to him, that it would show itself whenever he was ready. But what the hell was he supposed to do out here? The Rukongai is nothing but slums and decay, desperate living and crime. He brought his zanpakutou off of his shoulder and inspected it closer. It showed no response to anything, not even a peep. No matter how hard he begged, how hard he wanted to learn its name. Nothing...

'_The hell am I doing out here? I should have known by now that my ideas are no good.' _

As he walked past an alleyway, he heard some muffled cries of pain and other whimpers. Figuring he had nothing else to do, he went to inspect what the fuss was about. With heavy steps he made his way into the shanty pathway. A dirty looking man had a woman up against the wall and was beating and groping her. She had little to nothing on to begin with but he ripped her rags off anyway. He delved a bit lower with his hands and she let out a horrid shriek.

Luckily, she spotted the Kenpachi standing tall a couple feet away from the two and let out some barely intelligible pleas. "H-H-help m-m-me!"

Zaraki scoffed and decided to interrupt this rape, not that he really cared, but he hasn't had anything to do for the past few days. '_Might as well have a little fun with runt I guess_.' He thought darkly to himself.

The thug took no notice of the impending giant creeping up on him. Zaraki gripped his zanpakutou and tapped the man on his shoulder with the blunt side of the blade.

"Yo." He mumbled. "Why don't ya pick on someone your own size huh?"

The man immediately stopped feeling up his victim and immediately turned around, knife in hand, and found himself face to face with quite the menacing person. He was too excited to even take notice of the reaitsu hindering his movements.

"What the fuck do you want!?" He spat. "Does this look like a peep show to you?" Just then it finally registered in his brain that he was talking to a Shinigami, an extremely powerful one at that. He eyed his zanpakutou with horror and backed away from the Kenpachi. He immediately dropped his pathetic little object he called a weapon in response to the threatening zanpakutou.

"Wh…what is a fuckin' Shinigami doing all the way out here?" he questioned, panic filling every word.

"Uhh I don't know." He replied. "I'm tryin to find myself or something, can't quite remember." He tapped his chin, playing dumb.

'As I was saying," He continued. "How bout you pick on someone your own size? Like me for instance! I need some action anyway."

The man basically fell over dead right then and there; he immediately sprinted off as fast as he could for dear life in the opposite direction. Kenpachi sighed in disappointment at the loss of his prey and laid Yachiru down on the ground, taking a seat next to the half-naked women as well. She was shivering in fear but after a moment she calmed down and looked at Kenpachi with a certain curiosity, like he was an alien or something.

"T-Thankyou..." She stuttered.

Kenpachi eyed her up for a moment with no ill intention and noticed she had a flicker of reiryoku in her. The women had light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a rather curvy body. Kenpachi ripped off his haori and flung it at her.

"Here." He spoke. "Cover yourself up before I got to fight another man off ya."

She complied and wrapped it around herself; it was huge compared to her body size, but she didn't complain. Kenpachi lay back against the wooden wall and closed his eyes for a moment, having been a couple days since he's stopped walking to god knows where.

After a moment of comfortable silence, he opened his eyes and spoke. "Hey girl, you know you got quite a bit of reiryoku in you right? If you were smart, you'd go join the Shinigami academy and get the hell out of his life." '_Why do I even care_?'

"I-I have what?" she replied, still a bit shaken from the failed attack.

"Reieryoku." He stated again. "It's the stuff all Shinigami have; it's what separates the normal spirits from the powerful spirits. What I'm sayin is, you got what it takes to be a Shinigami."

"Really!?" She basically yelped in joy. This could be her ticket out of this hell anyway.

"How do you not know?" He asked. "Haven't you ever gotten hungry for food, not just water?"

"Well, I have, but I never knew that's what it meant." She replied honestly.

Kenpachi accepted that answer and looked over to Yachiru, who was still asleep as per usual.

"See that girl right there?" Kenpachi pointed toward Yachiru. "She and I were both from here, Rukongai District #80, _Zaraki_ and Rukongai District #79, _Kusajishi_. We're both like you in a way if you think about it."

"I never got the name of my savior did I?" She asked politely.

"Don't call me that, but for the record, its Kenpachi Zaraki, 11th squad Taichou of the Gotei 13."

Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open like a fish. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "I'm talking to an actual captain of the Gotei 13!?"

"Yeah…" He grunted in response. "Big deal…. What's your name little girl?" She wasn't exactly little, a grown women in fact. But he didn't really care.

"Me?" She replied. "Well, it's Aizen Akemi."

Kenpachi took on a confused expression. '_Aizen….Nah... Must be a coincidence._' He shrugged the similarity's off and turned back to Akemi.

"Nice name you got there." He complimented, a sincere one at that. "If you want to live a little bit longer in Soul Society, you better take the west path that leads back to the Seiretei. It's about a few weeks walk from here if you an't a Shinigami like me."

"Thankyou for helping me…." She said, eliciting another displeased grunt from Kenpachi.

"Don't mention it." He responded. "You can keep that haori if you want, I really don't need it."

They talked for a little bit longer before she thanked him again and said their respected goodbyes. Going their separate ways, Kenpachi carried Yachiru throughout the remainder of the district, stopping by an inn that lay on the outskirts of it to get a bite to eat. Contrary to Yachiru's complaining, he refused to stay the night, instead they continued on his journey to nowhere.

Walking through a forest that led to the 55th district, Kenpachi finally felt the fatigue of moving non-stop for 4 days take hold of him, and he finally decided to set up camp somewhere. He took a good look around his surroundings and saw no ideal spot to do so. Although a little bit south of his current location, there was a rather large rock formation jutting out into the forest. '_Maybe there's a cavern around there?_'

He tapped Yachiru on the back who was openly snoring.

"Yo Yachiru, wake up."

She once again lazily came to and awaited whatever Kenpachi had to say. "We're gonna find a place to crash, keep a good eye out for me will ya?"

She sleepily nodded and pretty much went back to bed on his back. Zaraki moved toward the rocks and spotted a gaping hole that looked to be inhabitable amongst the brush. As he was about to run toward his salvation, he felt a large chill run down his spine as someone approached from behind. Quiet footsteps could be heard, the person obviously wasn't trying to hide his or her presence. He quickly gripped his zanpakutou and got into a fighting stance. '_Here I go._'

As he turned, he immediately froze mid-swing as he was met face to face with the most unlikely person.

"Hello, Zaraki-kun." He softly greeted, his arms behind his back in a rather formal manner. He then stretched out his arm and opened the palm of his hand in a gesture to initiate a handshake.

"Aizen…?"

* * *

**A/N #2 - **Ohh yaaay. What could Aizen possibly want!? Stupid cliff hanger! But that is part of the fun right? Hehe, anyway, it's time for Aizen to stalk people! The fun begins, or does it? I'm not going to tell you why he will be following some people, but it will all make sense in the end. I almost did slip up and write why in this A/N. Curse my eccentricity! Anyway, is Akemi's last name really a coincidence? Maybe, maybe not! :D. Hope you guys enjoyed this, I wanted to go back and fill in some holes while doing Zaraki's story all the same time. Next chapter were going back to present time with Ichigo and company. Tell me about any mistakes you find. Till next time!

P.S. - About all these questions you might have about whats going on, I hope i'm not making anyone mad. But the reveals will be fun!


	7. The Squad Zero

Bleach is once again owned by Tite Kubo, not me ;_;

* * *

**A/N #1 - **Good evening everyone, hope everyone's having a wonderful Spring Break if you are on that right now. Here's a little update for you guys today. Hopefully ill have the next one out not to long from now since i'm now using my vacation days. So expect another chapter in 1-3 days. Three being the max hehe. Anyway, here marks the final chapter where it follow the canon story line AT ALL. From here on out it will be 100% from my own imagination. So I hope you guys enjoy this one. Please review and let me know of any mistakes I make. Reviews always make me happy, even if they're bad haha. See you guys on the next A/N.

* * *

**The Black Side of the Moon~ The Squad Zero**

* * *

_It's still to early to believe_

_~Hirako Shinji_

* * *

A light breeze brought the woods to life as a Shinigami walked silently along the dirt path just outside of the 55th Rukongai district. He smiled gently to himself and looked up at the crescent moon which shone brightly overhead, enlightening the area with its presence. He began to unsheathe his zanpakutou from its newly acquired scabbard which hung by his waist, just inside his sash. He then pointed the blade outwards and turned it upside down, followed by a barely audible command.

"_Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu."_

* * *

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

The sound of the emergency alarm rang all throughout the Seiretei as the sun began to peek over the great white walls. The pitter patter of lower seat Shinigami could be heard as they scrambled to their assigned posts as quickly as possible. Soon enough, the 12th division communication's team could be heard.

"The Royal Guard will be here this afternoon, please arrive at your respected division duties on schedule! Tardiness will not be tolerated!"

At the sound of the loud and obnoxious alarm, Ichigo awoke and began to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. He sat up and clamped his hands over his ears in attempt to drown out the unwanted noise.

"Shit." He exclaimed. "That wakeup call is almost as bad as Oyaji back home."

Muffled whimpers came from under the bed sheets next to Ichigo, and were subsequently pushed over to reveal a very disheveled and unaware Rukia, who was still sleeping over the alarm.

Ichigo tensed at the sight of her invading his personal space, which in reality it was sort of the opposite.

'_Rukia…? What the he-…..Oh, last night..._' His jumbled thoughts all came together and pinpointed the reason why he's in the bed with her, feeling quite uneasy that he forgot.

Ichigo glanced at the door and then back at the small, fragile looking and half-asleep women next to him and let out a deep breathy sigh. It's not as if he didn't like her being in his presence, quite the contrary actually, it made him feel extremely happy for _some _reason. It's just that he's not quite used to having the opposite sex in such close proximity to himself. Although he was always extraordinarily comfortable with Rukia since the moment he crossed paths with her, his feelings have been kind of in a jumble lately. Adding to the anxiety, he's in a hospital bed where his wounded friend is supposed to be recuperating. The circumstances surrounding this weren't exactly ideal or to his liking, so to speak.

Rukia frowned in her sleep and began to shiver from the lack of warmth; Ichigo noticed this and began to smother her in blankets again. He tucked her in and the frown that marred her perfect face began to disappear. A warm expression started to overcome his almost constant scowl as he pushed that rogue strand of hair that always hung down the middle of her face behind her ear.

'_Only if things could just be halfway normal for once Rukia….._'

Ichigo lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, figuring he could still fit in another hour or so rest before the day really starts.

'_Hell, I'm not even really part of the Gotei 13…._'

As Ichigo began to drift off, the door to his room burst open, followed by Kyouraku Shunsui, who let out a very unprofessional yawn while waving to him. He was carrying a piece of parchment in his right hand, to which he folded and placed inside his shihakushou.

"Ichigo-chaaaan~!" He sang joyously. "There's no time to sleep late, just look at me, even I'm up!"

Ichigo darted up and waved his arms frantically to try and signal Shunsui to keep his voice down, to which probably had something to do with the Shinigami next to him, who was still sound asleep after all this noise.

"Kyouraku-san!" He whispered. "Rukia is trying to sleep, keep your voice down a little bit!"

Shunsui got the hint and he peeked over Ichigo to see Rukia sleeping soundly next to him. His usual lazy smirk deepened into a wide and knowing grin.

"Oh, young love sure is beautiful!" He chirped. "I remember back in my academy days, I used to chase the young ladies all day long!"

Ichigo groaned at the man's misinterpretation of the scene before him as he went on and on about the old days. After a couple minutes he decided to put an end to his rants, which were getting a bit to raunchy for his tastes.

"You've got it all wro-!"

"I don't recall hearing much noise last night when I went to speak to Retsu." The flamboyant Taichou scratched his beard as if deep thought, humming to himself. "You two must be pretty quiet-"

A strong fist connected with his face before he could finish his line, and he subsequently lay on the floor in a complete daze.

"Just shut up and tell me why you came here so early." Ichigo seethed, anger and embarrassment clear in his voice. It's not like he wanted to sound rude, it's just that he frankly doesn't have the patience for foolish behavior right now, given the situation.

Shunsui rubbed his head as he sat back up while brushing off his favorite hat. He slowly stood up to his full height which was well over Ichigo's 6'1 and donned a more serious and dark look, one that mirrored his alter-ego he had been taking up lately.

"Something happened last night in the Muken." He said with a downcast voice.

Ichigo met eyes with him and knew what was coming. There's no way Aizen was going to stick around for long.

"Not many know this yet, even some of the division heads." Shunsui sighed, tipping his hat even farther down to cover half his face. "Aizen Sousuke escaped."

'_Uh well, nothing's really changed much I guess._' Ichigo thought jokingly to himself.

"How did he manage that?" He lied, trying his best to cover up the fact that he failed to tell Shunsui about Aizen's true condition.

"Well, we don't know exactly." Shunsui replied evenly. "One moment he's all tied up and locked down securely, the next he's gone, vanished, not a trace of anything. All we found were his bindings which looked like they were removed ages ago. For instance, they even had dust cumulating on them. My guess is that he somehow had access to his _Kyouka Suigetsu_, but that's a stretch. I currently have an investigation team down there to see if they can find anything of any use, but I doubt there will be much. He covers his tracks pretty well sadly."

Ichigo thought for a moment, thinking about what is going to happen. His eyes narrowed as he played out some possibilities in his head, then he faced Shunsui again.

"What are we going to do about him?" He questioned, unsure of what to do.

"Well, nothing for now." Shunsui answered frankly. "Don't get the wrong idea Ichigo-chan, it's just that we can't spare anymore Shinigami to go on a wild goose chase for someone who can make himself invisible. We will continue to focus on this new Quincy threat and hope Sousuke stays out of it until we have them under control."

He tipped his hat back up and slowly walked over to the hospital bed and plopped down next to Ichigo.

"Ichigo." He called, notably dropping the honorific. "We cannot let the Royal Guard catch wind of this little incident. If they find out, it will probably mean the end of the Gotei 13 as you and I both know it."

Ichigo's eyes widened in confusion in response to the cryptic nature of his words and he began to noticeably fidget with the bed sheets.

"What do you mean…end?" He murmured quietly.

"They will not take this failure lightly, I'll tell you that." He replied solemnly. "I don't know for sure what they will do, but it won't be any good. The blunder of letting a level 8 prisoner and someone who threatens the Soul King as much as he escape, is nasty business indeed, and is likely going to cost some _people_ their jobs."

Ichigo understood what he was insinuating, and by his jerky mannerisms, it would probably cost him his own life for some reason. Shunsui got up from the bed and stood tall once more before Ichigo.

"As the new acting Soutaichou of the Gotei 13, the blame will undoubtedly be placed on me, which I'm sure you gathered by now, seeing, how observant you always are."

Ichigo's watched Shunsui lean against the hospital wall as he folded his arms together and tilted his head downward.

"Kyouraku-san, you…?"

"Yes." He sighed, a hint of remorse or guilt lacing his voice. "Central 46 appointed me the position this morning. It's not like I had a choice in the matter. Juushirou is still ill and Retsu will not take the job, since she is needed in the medical bays, and we can't lose our best doctor in times of war."

"So what do I have to do with all of this?" He questioned, while his eyes became slits.

Shunsui took off his hat and smiled softly to Ichigo and gestured for him to listen closely.

"What are your opinions on the kind of person Aizen is?" He asked, seemingly a random question.

"My opinions on Aizen?" Ichigo asked. "Why Aizen of all people?"

"Just go ahead and answer the question Ichigo-chan, it will make sense to you soon enough." He stated kindly.

"Well…" He began with uncertainty. "At first, I didn't really think anything of him, but then he tried to kill Rukia and he captured Inoue. By then, I was pretty angry at him. To top it all off, he threatened all of my friends and Karakura Town. After that, I pretty much viewed him as a psychopath that needed to be stopped…"

'_Hmm, maybe that wasn't the most elegant way of putting it._' He mused to himself.

"And….?" Shunsui interrogated expectantly while nodding. "Anything else of importance you might want to tell me?"

Ichigo's eyes became distant for a moment as he recalled the past. He came back to the present and stood up off of the bed.

"But then… At the end of our battle." He began. "As he was being sealed away by Urahara-san, he said something, something that reminded me of myself."

"And what did he say Ichigo-chan?" Shunsui asked patiently.

"It was about the Soul King, I think that's what he called him." He replied softly. "He asked Urahara-san about why he did nothing while "It" sat on the throne and then he spoke of how you should always view how the world should be, and not the way it is."

Shunsui noticeably stiffened at who and what he was referring too, and he continued to listen closely to Ichigo speak.

"After all that time, Aizen acted like nothing but a detached and cold man who cared for nothing except attaining godhood, but he felt _almost_ human during that moment….I could finally feel some emotion coming from him, it felt like his true self, and his true self wasn't all that evil apparently, just angry and alone, angry at the Soul King for whatever reason. He just bottled it up and kept that anger hidden from everyone"

Shunsui contemplated this silently to himself momentarily as his words and assessment of Aizen's character soaked in, and he pushed off the wall and supported his weight once more.

"Your judgment is very good Ichigo-chan." He commended. "You have a way with seeing more than one side of the battle, and that I like. You should always remember that the prospective of "war" changes everything, and that technically, both sides are evil. Even the Gotei 13 has made some pretty poor decisions in the past, which is why this current war is going on. It is also true that Aizen's ambitions did have _some_ basis, but instead of taking on the problem himself, he should have formed a united front, one without lies and deceit. Learn from his mistakes and use that in the future and you will become a great leader one day."

Ichigo just stared at Shunsui who walked over to the room's window and stared directly out of it with his hands folded behind his back.

"This is why, after I'm gone, I want you to take the helm of the Gotei 13." He added sternly.

At this, Ichigo immediately perked up and opened his mouth to speak but found no words escaping. Shunsui noticed this then and waved him off.

"There is no need to respond to that Ichigo-chan." He acknowledged. "I don't need or want an answer yet, for you are too young to make such a big decision. But know that you will learn in time that you are a very capable leader, whether you like it or not. I don't mean to brag, but I always had a knack for seeing the truth in people, and you are no exception. Even with Sousuke, I always felt something was odd about him, and it only took a couple incidents to confirm my suspicions. The reason I never took any action, is the fact that there is no point in preventing the inevitable."

"What do you mean the inevitable?" Ichigo questioned, while looking a little puzzled.

Shunsui turned back around and offered Ichigo a small smile.

"Well, for starters." He yawned. "Someone was going to revolt against the Soul King sooner or later, though I don't know how Sousuke managed to meet or see him…"

"Why would they revolt against him?"

Shunsui let out a mild groan while playing with the hilt of one of his zanpakutou nervously. He lazily put his hat back on and tipped it up high.

"I'm not really supposed to be talking about this, I hope you know that." He sighed, as he continued to fiddle with his zanpakutou. "But don't you notice something that's not quite right about Soul Society?"

Ichigo pondered on this for a moment and shrugged.

"All I can think of off the top of my head is the Rukongai." He added contemplatively.

"That would be one of the many problems a "vacant" throne causes." Shunsui agreed. "It's not vacant in literal or Sousuke's terms, but it may as well be. You see, the Soul King has been dormant for over 4,000 years and no one has heard or seen from him in all that time. It is even rumored that the Royal Guard has been acting on its own agenda ever since he went into his "sleep" which is said to be after the creation of the Ouken. I'm not entirely sure what "sleep" means, so don't ask me about that. I'm just relaying to you what Yama-jii told me around a hundred years ago."

"So he's a king who's not doing any ruling?" Ichigo concluded.

"Exactly." He approved. "The only Shinigami old enough to know this information would be Juushirou, Retsu, the Royal Guard, and apparently Sousuke."

"Urahara-san seemed to know quite a bit about the Soul King." Ichigo said calmly.

"Remember Ichigo-chan, what I just told you is highly classified information." Shunsui remarked, gaining a nod from Ichigo in return. "The Royal Guard would probably have my head for telling you such things. Although from the current situation were in now, that seems to be quite inevitable anyway. Which reminds me, no doubt you heard the alarm earlier, but the Royal Guard will be arriving shortly, you would probably do well to meet with them. They would probably want to meet with the hero of the Winter War."

"I will come I guess." He replied, a little apprehensive from all he's heard about them. "Where do I have to go?"

Shunsui took out a blank piece of parchment from his shihakushou and scrawled something on it.

"Here are the directions." He said, while handing them to Ichigo. "If you can't read that, go to the South gate that leads to the Rukongai. They should be arriving an hour from now, so don't be late!"

Shunsui waved goodbye and began to walk out the door in semi-haste.

"Wait Kyouraku-san!" Ichigo called, making Shunsui turn back to him. "I appreciate the information."

"No problem Ichigo-chan!" He laughed, while giving him an off handed parting ways salute. "Be sure to take care of Rukia-chan for me!" He flashed Ichigo a wink and then dispersed from the hospital room while humming to himself merrily, seemingly having not a care in world.

'_What an odd guy'_ Ichigo thought curiously. '_Sort of reminds me of a mix between Urahara-san and Oyaji._'

Ichigo unfolded the piece of paper that Shunsui passed him. It read;

'_Make sure you be gentle with Ru-'_

Ichigo stopped reading it right there, crumpled the paper up and tossed it in the waste bin next to Rukia's bed. He sat back down on said bed and gazed at the door, and let out a long, deep sigh. A pair of light fingers grazed his elbow and he heard a small voice escape the women next to him.

"Ichigo?" Rukia called, albeit sleepily. "How long are you going to ignore me?"

Ichigo turned around and met eyes with a rather playful looking Rukia given the circumstances. He let out a puff and crossed his arms over his chest in his usual bantering fashion.

"Who said I was trying to ignore you!" He responded in mock anger. "I was being nice and trying to let you get your sleep!"

"Well you two were doing a horrible job of it!" She retorted, looking a bit cross. "I don't think anyone can sleep next to you, with all of your moving around and fidgeting that you do."

Ichigo's face became even angrier before it dropped off completely. He smiled brightly to Rukia and enveloped her in a large, loving hug. He laughed to himself while Rukia returned the embrace and patted him on the back, which made him hold her even tighter.

"Boy am I glad that you're still you Rukia." Ichigo admitted happily.

"Yeah." Is all Rukia whispered back, trying her best to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

Ichigo loosened his grip on her, placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her intently. His gaze moved downward until he stopped at her mid-section and he frowned. Rukia knew what he was frowning about and why he wouldn't meet eyes with her.

"So are you…" Ichigo began nervously, still avoiding her eyes. "Unohana-san said you were paralyzed…"

"I am." She stated bluntly. "It's not that bad so far, I just can't really feel my legs, and of course I can't move them."

"So, what is going to happen to your position as fukutaichou of the 13th division?" He asked.

"Central 46 apparently was very gracious regarding my future." She happily noted. "After Kyouraku-Taichou _spoke_ with them about my condition, they were quick to accept his terms, or so he told me. Usually, one isn't technically allowed to "retire" from the Gotei 13, most the time you get thrown in Maggots Nest from the 2nd division if you ask to leave."

"We should go see Inoue as soon as possible to see if she can help you." Ichigo suggested, quite relieved at hearing some good news from Rukia herself.

"Yeah I thought about that." She nodded her head in approval. "I really do hope she can reverse this, but I might as well get used to the wheel chair just in case." Rukia chuckled to herself in light of her condition.

"Alright, after this business with the Royal Guard, I'll try and get permission to bring you down to Karakura Town for a little visit." Ichigo said while tapping her shoulder.

"That sounds good to me." Rukia added approvingly while giving him small thumbs up. "It's been a while since I've seen Yuzu and Karin anyway, oh, and that crazy father of yours."

"I'm sure they would love to see you again Rukia." Ichigo assured her with honesty.

"That reminds me." Rukia mentioned plainly. "Have you seen Renji around lately?"

Ichigo snorted in response and shrugged.

"He's probably in this hospital somewhere. You know how he is, sleeping in all day long most likely. If you want, on my way out I'll go and tell him you're up."

Rukia giggled and playfully slapped his arm. "Yeah that would be nice. Listen Ichigo, you better get going, you definitely don't want to keep everyone waiting now do you?"

'_Did she just giggle?_'

Ichigo nodded in agreement, stood up, stretched, and picked up _Zangetsu _who was lying comfortable on the wall next to the bed. He strapped him to his back and fixed up his shihakushou which was ruffled slightly and waved goodbye, to which Rukia responded to. As he turned for the door, Rukia called to him again.

"Wait, Ichigo!"

In response, Ichigo turned back around and saw Rukia beckoning for him to come closer. Ichigo complied and walked back over to the bedside. Rukia swiftly pulled him down and planted a small and chaste kiss on his cheek, to which made Ichigo's complexion redden considerably. She let go of him and Ichigo fell over on his butt from shock.

"Thank you for last night Ichigo…" She timidly whispered with a red tint of her own growing on her face.

Ichigo quickly got his wits about him and shot up back onto his feet while trying to hide his embarrassment.

"N-no problem Rukia, anytime!" He stuttered out. "I'll see you in a few then, Bye!"

He waved bye to Rukia and flew out the door as quickly as possible, leaving a laughing Rukia alone by herself. She fell back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling with a huge, childish smile on her face.

'_He sure is cute when he's nervous._'

* * *

_Outside Seireitei, South gate;_

The skies were a deep blue, with a couple of scattered clouds here and there. You could hear birds chirping all throughout the woods, and you wouldn't even be able to guess that a brutal war took place inside the Seireitei from this angle. All of the acting Taichou of the Gotei 13 stood silently outside of the southern wall, waiting patiently for the Royal Guard's arrival. After a minute or so, the footsteps of another could be heard, in hoping to join the welcoming party. Ichigo spotted Shinji and waved over to him.

"Hey, Hirako!" Ichigo yelled to him which made Shinji turn his head back toward his direction.

"What you doing here Ichigo?" He asked. "There's nothing here for you to see."

"Kyouraku-san invited me here." Ichigo said matter-of-factly. "So where's the Royal Guard from, and why are we standing out in the middle of nowhere? I find it odd that they didn't come to help you guys in the invasion."

"They're with the Spirit King in the Royal Palace Ichigo-chan." Shunsui interjected, while pointing at the wall in front of them. "You see this spirit wall here? This wall is usually only meant to be used during state of emergencies, so now it's down because of the invasion. It's really meant to protect the Spirit Palace, not the Seireitei."

"So that's why this wall fell that one time when I came here…" Ichigo reflected thoughtfully.

"That is exactly right." Shunsui said frankly. He looked up into the sky and tipped his hat downward to block out the sun. "Oh, and here they come now."

Ichigo looked up at the sky and saw nothing. All of a sudden, a giant pillar crashed down in front of them, spewing dust and debris up into the air.

"What the hell is this?" Ichigo questioned.

"It's the Heavinly Pillar." Shunsui answered. "It's the preferred method of transportation for the Royal Guard. All of them are inside that pillar right now.

"Every single one, how is that possible?" He questioned. "It looks like it could only hold 6 or 7 people."

"There are no "soldiers" in the Royal Guard." Shunsui noted evenly. "Although calling the five members of the Royal Guard 'Taichou' doesn't really do them justice either. Their combined power is greater than all of the Gotei 13 put together."

"The entire Gotei 13?" He asked in disbelief.

"That's correct, not only are they only the most intelligent Shinigami in existence, but they are also the most powerful."

At this, the gate opened up to reveal the strangest sight. Five Shinigami dressed in an unusual fashion marched out of the entrance. The leader was a huge, bald man with a large black beard, coupled with large geta's on his feet. Another man wore a pompadour style haircut with a straw being chewed in between his teeth, while carrying a flag with a strange symbol on it. To the left of him was an enormously obese lady with bright purple hair and a spoon tied up in it, with an odd assortment of makeup plastered on her face. To the far right was a rather short man, with large blue glasses, a vest, and an unknown hairstyle wrapped up in a ponytail. And finally, in the back was a rather normal looking woman, except for the fact that she seemingly had six arms, with an odd crescent moon shaped crown on her head.

"OHHHH YEAAAHHHHHH!~" Sang the man with the pompadour haircut. "We're here, we're here, we're finally here! Make way for the fantastic, the elusive, the great Squad Zerooooo!"

The entirety of the Gotei 13 just stood in shock with all their mouths hung open at the sight of such a foolish crowd, save for the seniors, who by now no doubt knew the group. Ichigo raised his finger to say something but was interrupted by the man with the pompadour again.

"Long time no see, boys and girls of the Gotei 13!" He sung in a mocking voice. "Have you been eating and sleeping and staying healthy?"

This remark got little to no response from the Gotei 13, for they were still in shock. Shinji finally snapped out of it.

"Somehow, these guys that're here aren't exactly the kind of caliber I was expecting…" He muttered disappointingly to himself.

A giant hand came out of nowhere and smacked Shinji in the back of the head which sent him flying a couple feet and elicited quite a noise from the latter.

"What the fuck was that, dammit!" He cursed while rubbing a forming sore spot on his head.

"It's been a long time Shinji!" Shrieked the overly large and bulbous women with the purple hair. "And Hiyori-chan isn't with you? How unusual! She used to always stick around with you if I remember correctly!"

"What do you mean "long time"!?" Shinji said while scratching his head. "Who the hell are you…? Wait….did you just say Hiyori-chan?"

"What are you saying Shinji!?" Questioned the women. "Have you forgotten about me!? It's me, Kirio!"

"K…Kirio-san!?" Shinji questioned, obviously a bit confused. "You've changed….I can't even make a big deal about how much you've changed! Who the hell are you?"

"My goodness Shinji, how rude of you!" She exclaimed. "I haven't changed that much...Say, have any food around here?"

Shinji just stared helplessly at the women before him as she looked around in urgency for something to eat. Meanwhile, the man with the oversized pompadour made his way over to Retsu.

"Well, well, well." He taunted. "Look at what we have here, long time no see Unohana."

Unohana bowed her head silently and said nothing in response.

"Well?" He asked with obvious dominance. "You been makin' good use of those healing techniques I taught ya all those years ago?"

"Of course, what would make you believe otherwise, Kirinji-kun?" Unohana responded with kindness.

"Well, it probably has something to do with a whole lotta people dying this time." He remarked harshly. "What the hell happened, huh!?"

Suddenly, the bald man with the heavy beard wrapped his large arm around Kirinji's neck, nearly choking him to death in the process.

"Now, now fellas!" He said lightly. "This is our first reunion in a very long time! There is a whole lot to talk about, but let's save that for later!"

"Tch, whatever."

"Weeeelll~!" Shunsui spoke cheerfully. "It seems everyone in Squad Zero hasn't changed much huh Oshou? So, what brings you all here this time?" Shunsui's eyes were hidden under his hat to hide his true nature.

Oshou completely ignored Shunsui as he locked eyes with Ichigo who stood helplessly over on the side. His eye's widened as he recognized who exactly he was.

"You must be Kurosaki Ichigo…." He spoke softly to himself, while turning back to Shunsui. "We are here before you today, because it is the Spirit King's will that we rebuild the Gotei 13…. But first, Kurosaki Ichigo, we are going to take you back to the spirit palace." He cast Ichigo a large grin and a positive thumbs up for emphasis.

"Quit fucking around!" Sui-Feng chided, venom and hatred stinging her words. "I don't care about how great Squad Zero is! You all just lounge around up there and wait around until Seireitei ends up like this! And now you show up to rebuild the Gotei 13 and act like nothing happened? That is some bullshit!"

Oshou and Kirinji outright ignored her completely as they talked to Ichigo.

"Hey! I'm talking to you-!"

The next thing she knew, her arm was twisted tightly and painfully behind her back in a lock.

'_When did he get behind me? How did he do that?_'

"Put a fucking sock in it." Kirinji demanded. "We're the ones who should be telling you to quit screwin' around. What are you guys? That's right, you're the "Gotei 13". Our job is to defend the Royal Palace and the Royal Realm, yours is to defend Seiretei. If you take on the name "Court Guardians" then come and beg us for help 'cause you can't protect Seiretei and do your job, then that two word title becomes worthless!"

Another large fist came down upon Kirinji's head and he squealed comically in pain. This succeeded in breaking the rather large tension that was growing between the two parties.

"I said to leave such banter for later Kirinji, we got business to take care of!" Oshou scolded, while turning to Ichigo and waving for him to come. "Kurosaki Ichigo, you must come with us to the Royal Palace, for the Spirit King demands your audience. This is a very rare thing indeed, so you will not be allowed to deny such a request."

Ichigo turned to Shunsui and he bowed his head and tipped his hat in silence. Ichigo let out a large sigh and walked toward Oshou.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice do I?" He admitted.

"That's right, now follow us, we have a little ways to go to get where we need to be."

Ichigo nodded and the group began their short trek into the Rukongai to an unknown destination.

* * *

The Zero Division and Ichigo were silently walking down a dirt pathway in the middle of some woods. Soon enough, an opening appeared in the wood and revealed a large villa and an unorthodox sign.

'_Welcome to the residence of Shiba Kuukaku!_' It read, in thick bold letters. The sign was being carried by two large replications of Ganju.

"What the hell am I doing at this place?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

This prompted Shiba Kuukaku who popped out of nowhere and threw a rock at him, which hit him squarely in the head.

"What is "this place" supposed to mean you damn moron!" She snapped angrily. "You haven't seen me in over two years and that is the kind of greeting I get? If that's the case then the hell with launching you back up there!"

"Launch….launch what?" Ichigo pondered.

Oshou energetically pointed toward the spare Heavinly Pillar that sat behind Kuukaku's house.

"She's going to launch us back up to the palace in that!" He said happily.

"Why the hell is there one of these way over here, and why does she have one of all people?" Ichigo questioned once again.

"We make her keep a spare just in case we come down to the Seireitei." Oshou answered surely. "The Heavinly Pillar doesn't have a mechanism for returning to the Royal Palace on its own, so we have to use another method."

Ichigo accepted this answer and turned back to Kuukaku.

"That reminds me, Kuukaku-san. Where is Ganju at? I haven't seen him."

"Yeah…uh, about Ganju." She began hesitantly. "I turned him into a giant stone statue, so now I'm using him to hold the banner for the house."

"What kind of a half assed lie is that….?" Ichigo muttered.

"Never mind that!" She changed the subject quickly. "Hurry and get your ass on board, I'm about to launch you guys up there!"

Oshou pushed Ichigo on board and the other members followed closely. When they were all stuffed in there, Kuukaku began the incantation to light the match.

"What the hell?" Ichigo cursed. "I can't see anything in here, its pitch black!"

"Well there's not a very wide selection of lights to put in here." Oshou noted fervently. "Besides, there's no reason to waste time putting anything in here anyway. None of us are controlling this thing, so just close your eyes and enjoy the ride!"

BOOOOOOM!

The pillar launched into the sky with a bang, creating a smoke trail that could be seen for miles. It was basically an extremely large bottle rocket.

"Holy shit, I knew it would be like this!" Ichigo fearfully yelled. "Isn't there a seat belt on this thing or something!?"

Back down below, Shiba Kuukaku stared up at the blue sky, watching the pillar fly into nowhere.

"And they're gone..." Shiba Ganju spoke, while walking into the scene. "Are you really sure about letting him go up there alone sis?"

"Yeah…." She replied solemnly. "If he doesn't go now, then the next battle will mean the end for Soul Society. The only real choice was to let him go, even if it will end up making the old man sad..."

Ganju silently nodded and gazed up at the sky where the pillar left off, seeing that it already disappeared.

* * *

The pillar came to a rough halt, as it crashed into the landing zone of the Royal Realm. The pillar opened up and out came Ichigo followed by the rest of the Zero Division members. Oshou stepped over Ichigo and reached out his hand to help him up.

"Welcome to the Royal Palace Ichigo!" Greeted Oshou in a unusual manner.

Ichigo gripped his hand and pulled himself up off the ground and stared off into the distance. What he saw amazed him, there were five seemingly floating cities followed by a large tower that hovered overhead.

'_This place is huge_!' He thought in sheer wonder.

"Are you ready to meet the Spirit King Ichigo?" Oshou asked in temptation.

Ichigo turned to Oshou and thought for a moment, deciding that he really had nothing to lose. He remembered what Aizen told him the other day, which still rang through his mind now.

'_One last thing, if you should come in contact with the Royal Guard, please be weary of them. It is in your best interest to not let up your own guard around those people._'

Ichigo nodded his head sternly and accepted.

"Let's go."

* * *

_The Royal Sanctum, A couple hour before Ichigo's arrival;_

A man dressed in a formal white outfit bowed as deeply as he could manage before a great throne covered by elegant curtains.

"Have you awoken, Spirit King-sama?"

* * *

**A/N #2 - **Three cheers for the spirit king! Will he be a big blue freak like Dr. Manhatten from Watchmen? Or will he be pretty normal looking? You can probably guess which it will be but i'm not going to spoil it for you. So like I said, this will be the FINAL chapter where it follows anything from canon. So hopefully Kubo won't use some of my little plot points haha. If he does then that's fine, ill just use them anyway. So who's excited for this weeks Bleach chapter? I know I am, the fight between Hollow Ichigo and Isshin hopefully won't be that long, i'm more interested in character interactions than fights right now in Bleach. So once again, review!

Also, if anyone wants to know who the main characters will be in the story line other than the two listed up above, meaning this story will have LOTS of them. There are alot more other than what i've listed below, but these are the ones that will really take up a lot. You can expect those others besides Aizen after the next chapter, and you'll find out why. Till next time!

-Isshin

-Aizen

-Urahara

-Ryuuken

-Yhwach (JuhaBach)


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